Originally Posted by
ovrtake92
Do we really have a crap product? I think our reputation is worse than our current level of service. Every time I get sqeezed in the back of an American Airlines S80 or barked at by a rude CSA on United I can't help but think that all the airlines are a poor product. We just happen to be the cheapest usually. Management seems to be working hard to fix the bad reputation through solid advances in reliability and PR. I agree that low oil prices don't help us but that's just near term stuff. We're all playing the same game with the same price of oil. The key difference is that we aren't lowering ticket prices to compete as oil prices drop. All Spirit has to do is maintain during this period of low oil price and growth because when the tables turn, these massive oil related profits that the other airlines are enjoying will be turned off like a faucet while Spirit continues on with what it was doing all along; making cash money while BB and the gang wear gold chains and diamond crusted grills. NOW FOR OUR SHARE!!!
I believe we don't have a crap product we have an image problem. Huge image problem. All one has to do is go to Yelp and read the reviews, then you realize that probably HALF the people who have reviewed Spirit or comment on stories about Spirit have never flown Spirit. They have taken the media's word (news sites, blogs, forums, etc.) and what "my cousin's girlfriend's next door neighbor's babysitter's dad" said about Spirit. I truly believe our product is not Virgin America, but it's not the worst flight either. We are still getting bad reviews because of a $100 bag fee, seats that don't recline and no free drinks.
I think we're on the right track business model-wise, we still have an image problem.