Originally Posted by
sailingfun
The concept of a ULCC depends on extremely cheap labor, minimum staffing and keeping maintenance costs at a minimum. It also appears to not scale well to large airlines. Low cost labor given the market now is a thing of the past unless you are really dipping into the bottom of the labor pool. Minimum staffing works well in a small operation but fails when the airline grows. Minimal maintenance works poorly as Spirit itself proved in the past but is functional with newer aircraft. Newer aircraft eventually however become older aircraft.
Spirit will do just fine long term but I suspect will fall far short of planned growth expectations. Resetting a airline with 100 planes is vastly different than resetting a airline with 500 aircraft. Given the realities of weather and other issues today Spirit will have to make a huge commitment to pay increases and Manning upgrades to sustain the growth rate. These increases will substantially up the cost structure. You can’t operate a Southwest fleet size with Spirit Manning and wages.
Very true. I’m selfish and hoping it lasts at least a few more years, which it will. But as the airline matures from a small airline relying on growth, to a large airline with aging aircraft and rising wages, Spirit will turn into SWA and just try and complete with legacies. I’m not sure what the future holds. But if I was young and starting my career, I don’t think I’d bet on Spirit as a career carrier. Much more money and opportunities at legacies and mass retirements still. There isn’t any of that here. Everything is predicated on growth. We have hit various stumbling blocks like Covid and meltdowns that set the airline back from planned growth.