Fort Lauderdale is MUCH easier to go in and out of Customs since it
is a smaller airport.
Another alternative for getting to Haiti.
The number of flights will be increasing but don't expect any free
peanuts and beer.
All I look for is SAFE, RELIABLE and AFFORDABLE
(With my luggage arriving when I do)

Pix


Begin forwarded message:

> From: PIx Mahler <pix@...>
> Date: March 28, 2007 7:40:17 AM EDT
> To: Pix Mahler <pix@...>
> Subject: Spirit Airlines
>
> 'We compete on price'
> Spirit Airlines cuts frills, goes for ontime service, comfort
> Alicia Dunkley, Business Observer staff reporter
> Wednesday, March 28, 2007
>
>

>
> Barry Biffle, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer,
> Spirit Airlines talks about the carrier's operating strategy.
> Firm in its belief that it can compete successfully on low prices,
> Florida-based Spirit Airlines intends to add 12 new routes this
> year and is projecting overall growth of 35 per cent.
>
> "We are the fastest growing carrier in Fort Lauderdale, we do more
> non-stops than any other carrier from Fort Lauderdale," boasted
> Barry Biffle, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer for
> the airline in an interview with the Business Observer at Spirit's
> head office last week.
>
> "Our international growth is mainly concentrated in the Caribbean
> area, but we are now expanding into Central and South America,
> Costa Rica, Aguadia in Puerto Rico, St Maarten and we added Haiti
> on March 22," Biffle reported, noting that additional flights on
> the domestic front have contributed as well.
>
>

>
> Spirit passengers check in at Fort Lauderdale airport, Florida.
> Biffle also projected that the privately held airline's aggressive
> expansion will earn it growth of 10 to 20 per cent next year.
>
> Sitting on 75,000 square-foot space at its impressive headquarters
> and training centre in Miramar, Florida, Spirit began in 1980 as
> Charter One, a Detroit-based charter tour operator providing travel
> packages to entertainment destinations. In 1993, however, Spirit
> began scheduled service to destinations in Florida, expanding
> rapidly over the following years.
>
>

>
> Senior marketing manager at Spirit Natasha Babulal prepares a media
> release for the airline. Babulal, a Jamaican, has been with Spirit
> for the past six years.
> Biffle said whereas other carriers competed on product, Spirit had
> made a name for itself because it competed on price.
>
> "The main reason we are able to keep our fares so low is because we
> have the lowest cost," he said. "Our distribution cost is among the
> lowest in the Americas. We spend less than three-and-a-half per
> cent of our average cost on distribution. Our customers tell us
> over and over it's all about the fare, and so when it's all about
> the fare it has to be all about the cost, so we are pretty brutal.
>
> "We are about four things: low fares; clean, new aeroplanes;
> ontime, reliable service; and friendly staff," the senior vice-
> president emphasised.
>
>

>
> Spirit's training centre in Miramar, Florida.
> "If you are looking for first class service, a hot meal, call
> American Airlines, we are not that carrier. We compete on price. If
> you are looking for the cheapest fare, being on time, flying on a
> new aeroplane with leather seats, friendly service, we are your
> airline. But if you want something else, that's not us, and we will
> be the first ones to tell you," he added.
>
> "We have just found our niche and it's not uncommon around the
> world to grow markets out of nothing. Everybody wants cheap travel,
> and I have learned that people want low fares. We are not for
> everybody, and we just figured out what do we have to do to make
> the product work," Biffle noted.
>
> Furthermore, he said, the airline has been able to minimise its
> operating costs based on the fact that its entire fleet of 36
> planes is under two years old.
>
> "Because of the aircraft being brand new, our average fleet age is
> a year-and-a-half, and they don't require the maintenance older
> planes require," he explained. "They are not sitting all the time,
> you are not constantly working on them and so you can keep them
> flying and that's where you get a lot of your growth."
>
> In the meantime, he said the airline is to order another 30 planes,
> upping the total fleet to over 70 within the next few years.
>
> Reviewing the airline's progress since entering the Jamaican market
> in 2005 with introductory rates starting from US$99, Biffle said
> the investment has "paid off so far". He also said that Spirit has
> become the flight carrier for the sizeable Jamaican population in
> South Florida.
>
> "We decided to fly to Jamaica because Jamaicans are one of the
> largest populations in South Florida, and we do very, very well in
> markets that have a local population and high volume vacation
> markets... so Air Jamaica might be the flight carrier in Jamaica,
> but we are the flight carriers for Jamaicans in South Florida, so
> we are in the community, it's part of our family," Biffle said.
>
> The move, he added, was also strategic, and has paid off for the
> airline and Jamaicans alike.
>
> "Prior to our arrival, we believe fares were relatively high, and
> we believed we could grow the market," he said. "There are still
> people that will want the higher end product, and we understand
> that, but we believe that there are plenty of price-conscious
> travellers that we can stimulate.
>
> "People that couldn't afford to fly can now fly, and that's what we
> are doing. It has really paid off so far and because of that we
> have added frequency to our Kingston and Montego Bay flights and by
> June we will be up to three flights per day between Fort Lauderdale
> and Kingston."
>
> He said the fact that the airline was majority staffed by Caribbean
> nationals, a number of whom are Jamaicans, also helped to
> "differentiate it from other airlines".
>
> He, however, made it clear that Spirit had no intention of 'going
> after' competitor Air Jamaica's customers.
>
> "Not at all. Air Jamaica competes on product; we compete on price,"
> he insisted. "We fully expect that a lot of people are going to
> stick with Air Jamaica, and we are not going after them. We are
> increasing the market... it helps the economy... but Air Jamaica
> has a very large clientele and they will keep a large part of their
> customer base.
>
> "We have done a decent amount of advertising in Jamaica, and we
> plan to do more, but a lot of Jamaicans are just finding us because
> of the four things we mentioned and we are getting a pretty good
> reputation," he said.
>
> Biffle said that while Spirit will remain a low cost carrier, the
> airline will be moving towards becoming a single class airline to
> cut costs to travellers.
>
> "Spirit Plus is going to go away; we are going to be a single class
> airline and we will have a big front seat, but it won't be
> complimentary liquor or snack. It's just too complicated," he said.
>
> "In the airport you have a separate line for business class, versus
> coach so that actually requires us to have more real estate in the
> airport and more room in the airport means we have to pay the
> airport more.
>
> "It adds to the time, and these aeroplanes cost us US$10,000 to US
> $12,000 per day, so we are just looking at all the things that
> drive cost, and unfortunately the business class product drove a
> lot of cost that we couldn't justify, so we are going to continue
> to offer that product, but it won't have business class or first
> class features and amenities, " he said.
>
> The changes, he added, will come into effect on June 20.
> Asked about upcoming changes in the fare structure, Biffle said
> there would be no unpleasant surprises there either.
>
> "On the high end, fares have gone down as much as 40 per cent, we
> have had penny fares to Jamaica, I don't know if they come down any
> cheaper than that," he said. "We continue to have a lot of great
> sales to Jamaica and we will continue to offer real competitive
> fares on the low end. But on the high end, you'll just never get
> gouged flying Spirit, even if it's holiday time. We are going to
> compete on price, so at the end of the day you can count on Spirit
> for the lowest fares."
>
> The airline, he said, has managed to provide service for travellers
> with less disposable income despite the vicious costs associated
> with operating in the industry.
> According to Biffle, Spirit's recent decision to fly to Haiti was
> one such demonstration.
>
> "There are no other US carriers that fly to Haiti, they just didn't
> have a competitive market, and American Airlines could pretty much
> charge what it wanted to, so if you think about an airline doing a
> good thing for a community, we look at Haiti and we have a special
> heart for Haiti and we think everybody should," Biffle said.
> "At the end of the day, Haiti is different business for us than
> Jamaica. If you want to talk about the humanity of this, it's one
> thing for Jamaicans to now afford to fly, but there are eight
> million Haitians that really can't afford to live, so you think
> about what you can do for a community and all the Haitians that are
> here," he added.
> "We are growing a lot and adding a lot of new destinations.
> "The biggest thing now is adding more frequency and giving people
> more and more options. It's just a lot of exciting things that keep
> happening and we intend to do more to keep costs down," Biffle told
> the Business Observer.
>
> He made it clear that Spirit's cost-cutting approach in no way
> meant a compromise on safety standards.
>
> "We have the standard amount of staff in-flight as mandated by the
> Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and in cutting costs we look
> at what you need to be safe," Biffle pointed out.
> With an added 12 new routes by year-end, the airline will be
> servicing some 34 destinations.
>
>
> Pix Mahler
> pcusa Haiti Partnership Facilitator
> pix@...
> 1022 Floyd St., Lynchburg, VA 24501
> 434-385-9486
> http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/profiles/mahlerp.htm
>
>
>

Pix Mahler
pcusa Haiti Partnership Facilitator
pix@...
1022 Floyd St., Lynchburg, VA 24501
434-385-9486
http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/profiles/mahlerp.htm