The fact of the matter is that leisure airline travel is subject to the law of income elasticity of demand. Spirit Airlines caters to the leisure traveler. If you view Spirit Airlines as an "inferior good", it would thereby follow that during this or any economic downturn, consumers will flock to the least expensive option when planning their travel. A load factor of over 80% for the fiscal year ending Dec. 2008 would seem to support this theory. Just like corporations, the consumer's primary concern is the bottom line. With one of the lowest operating costs in the industry, Spirit should be expected to thrive during recessionary periods. My question is how they will compete when the economy turns around and travelers have more discretionary income to shop for "superior goods". In an era where brand loyalty has nearly disappeared, will Spirit be able to retain repeat customers, or will they lose them to a more service-oriented airline?