Part 4/10:
One of Spirit's primary strategies involved the absence of first-class or business-class seats, allowing them to fit approximately 20% more seats per plane compared to the big three. In addition to a streamlined fleet focusing exclusively on the Airbus A320 family, Spirit's organizational structure featured minimal corporate staffing. This ethos was famously embodied by former CEO Ben Baldanza, who famously cut electricity costs by reducing office light bulbs and eliminated janitorial staff, requiring employees to clean their own workspaces.
However, this unyielding cost-cutting approach created an overburdened workforce, leading to significant operational challenges. Spirit's on-time performance was among the worst in the industry, with only 70% of flights leaving on time in 2023.