As travel has gotten increasingly more expensive over the years, many travelers who have smaller budgets but still hope for a vacation or a way to see distant family and friends have turned to budget airlines to make their dreams a reality.
In America, the most popular budget airlines are Spirit (SAVE) and Frontier, with some passengers also turning to JetBlue and Allegiant. The fares these airlines offer were often hundreds of dollars below their lowest-priced competitors, making people snap up tickets quickly, often without reading the fine print.
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In the case of Spirit especially, customers often got angry when they reached the airport and found out it would cost extra to fly with anything bigger than a petite backpack, to get a drink delivered to their seat, or to do basically anything other than fly from point A to point B.
Spirit metaphorically shrugged its shoulders at these customers, basically going with the stance that no matter how upset they might get about the company’s bare-fare pricing, they would be back. And this remained true for a period: Despite what people knew they were getting into with a Spirit flight, the fares did present an affordable, if somewhat uncomfortable, option for many.
Related: This CEO will lead Spirit into its post-bankruptcy future
But Spirit ran into trouble starting in 2020. The Covid pandemic hit the airline hard, but that was compounded by a painful recall of the Pratt & Whitney engines the brand used and a failed merger with JetBlue. The damage to Spirit was immense, leading the airline to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2024 and undergo a financial restructuring.
Now that the airline has emerged from bankruptcy proceedings and has a plan to move forward, it’s made a new announcement that seems very unlike the Spirit Airlines the public is familiar with.
A Spirit Airlines plane taxis to the runway at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in the Queens borough of New York on Sunday, April 7, 2024.
Spirit Air offers new premium options for travelers
On May 14, Spirit Airlines unveiled several new options for travelers to enhance their comfort.
The first option is a newly installed section in Spirit’s planes. The section will be located at the front of each aircraft and offer seven additional rows, with a total of more than 40 new seats. The seats in the new section will have four extra inches of legroom as compared with a typical Spirit seat.
The installation of the new Go Comfy sections kicks off in June 2025 and will continue through 2026. Guests who choose the option will also get an array of bonuses with the new seat, including a carry-on bag, priority boarding, a snack and a nonalcoholic beverage, and reserved space in an overhead bin. They will also be exempt from fees for reservation changes or cancellations.
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The new Go Comfy seats are available to book starting May 15 for travel dates beginning July 9.
Spirit also announced changes to its loyalty program, the most notable one presenting a big perk for Free Spirit Travel More Mastercard cardholders. These travelers will get two free checked bags, a perk scheduled to begin later this year. Spirit did not specify a date when this benefit would become active.
Other loyalty program additions include complimentary upgrades for Free Spirit Status members and Free Spirit credit card holders, as well as the ability to use earned points on Go Comfy seating once it launches.
Spirit Air goes from budget to luxury
While Spirit has long been known to target travelers looking for rock-bottom fares, its moves since it emerged from bankruptcy show that it’s decided to pivot in the other direction.
Not everyone is convinced that the airline known for nickel-and-diming its customers can pull off such a 180.
“Now, multiple signs point to Spirit looking to attract more affluent travelers. That’s inherently an uphill battle given that its core traveler base is focused on affordability while budget airlines also lack the resources to provide the kind of high-end experience that wealthy customers expect and the major carriers can provide,” TheStreet’s Veronika Bondarenko wrote.
The Points Guy’s Zach Griff called the changes “half-baked,” saying that Spirit Chief Commercial Officer Rana Ghosh said in an interview: “We’re in active discussion around what upgrades should look like as we go forward.”
Related: Spirit Airlines is trying to rebrand as luxurious (here is what that means)
