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If we had an award for "Extraordinary Defiance," we'd nominate Spirit Airlines.

An industry pacesetter in the race to unbundle, Spirit makes no apologies for its plethora of fees, despite waves of criticism from consumer advocates.

In fact, it sometimes seems to be cultivating a contrarian image. It was, for example, the first U.S. airline to charge a fee for carry-on baggage. It has also been the most outspoken critic of some of the Transportation Department's (DOT) new consumer rules.

One of those rules requires airlines to allow consumers to hold a reservation without payment for 24 hours or to cancel a reservation with no penalty for the first 24 hours, as long as the booking is made a week in advance.

Spirit protested that, under deregulation, the DOT shouldn't dictate cancellation policies, as long as they are clearly disclosed. It said the rule would raise its costs by creating reservations churn because its business model is built around nonrefundable fares, paid in full at the time of booking. It felt strongly enough to take its case to the U.S. Court of Appeals, where it is being reviewed.

In the meantime, the rule has become effective and, true to form, Spirit has broken out a $2 "DOT Unforeseen Consequences Fee" in its fare displays. The airline explains that the fee is designed to cover "the unintended consequences of government regulations."

Spirit clearly knows that this cheeky move will not win it any friends at the DOT, which is why this affair should be of interest to anybody who's trying to run a business. Even for those who don't admire Spirit's practices, this level of commitment and defiance is worth noting if only because it is so rare.