People want Saks Fifth Avenue production for Walmart prices. Not gonna happen at Spirit.
What you are going to get at Spirit is a cheap fare. That's it. Cheap. As in, "I'm willing to accept that I'm not going to get as many amenities or as much operational reliability because I'm getting the ticket for half price" cheap.
That being said, I think the article shows what we've known at Spirit for a little while: our operation is getting a lot better. Not perfect. Better.
But from a previous poster's comment - who cares? As a pilot I care about money, schedule, and QOL. Not what the charge is for an overhead bag. I think all pilots generally do our best to serve our PAX well in our area of the operation, knowing that it has some impact on our long term career. But at the end of the day how great a company is to fly on means very little about how great it is to work for.