Spirit Airlines is making strong strides when it comes to
timeliness.
"Over the past six months, we've set our best on-time
performance for Spirit for each of those six months," chief commercial
officer Matt Klein said on the sidelines of the CAPA Americas Aviation Summit
in Houston this week. "In terms on how that ranks against the industry, we
are now among the top in the industry."
In January, the most recent month for which the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics (BTS) has released statistics, Spirit recorded an
82.9% on-time percentage, fifth best out of 18 carriers the bureau tracked that
month.
That result came on the heels of Spirit finishing third and
second respectively in on-time percentage during November and December, when
the BTS was tracking 12 airlines. The Department of Transportation defines an
on-time flight as one that arrives within 15 minutes of schedule.
Despite the recent strong results, Spirit still had just the
ninth best on-time performance out of 12 ranked airlines for the 12 months that
ended in January, with its 78% falling below the industry average of 80.5%.
Klein blamed that 12-month result on operational problems
that Spirit experienced beginning in May and June of last year when pilots
staged a work slowdown. The airline's on-time performance plunged below 70%
during those months as a result. In February, however, the carrier completed a
new labor deal with pilots.
On other operational measures, Spirit has had mixed results.
The carrier's mishandled baggage rate was best in the U.S. industry in January,
just as it had been a year earlier. Conversely, its complaint rate was the
highest in the industry. Spirit also had the worst performance among U.S.
airlines in 2017 when it came to involuntarily denied boardings. The airline
bumped 0.82 passengers per 10,000 last year.
Klein said the pilot action impacted Spirit's denied-boarding
performance.
"As we move through the summer into the fall, you are
going to see a vastly different result," he said.
Klein also spoke about the airline's growth plans and about
changes it is making in how it prices ancillary services.
Spirit will grow its capacity, defined in available seat
miles, by 26% this year, before settling in to a growth rate of 10-15% in the
coming years.
"We feel we are getting to a point where 10-15% growth
is more appropriate for an airline of our size," he said. But he asserted
that the ultra-low-cost carrier still sees plenty of points to connect on the
map.
On the distribution front, Spirit is now testing the use of
data mining to adjust what it charges for seat assignments.
"Previously, we would have looked at a route and said
it is a 2,000-mile route and the prices should be X." Klein said." "Now
we are taking demand more into account. So we are testing elasticity."
He said that going forward, the carrier will be looking at
how to better tailor and merchandise its fare bundles, which he said are
currently "pretty generic."
The ascension of current Spirit chief financial officer Ted
Christie to CEO next January, replacing Robert Fornaro, won't lead to major
changes, Klein explained.
"Ted Christie has stated he will continue what Bob has
started," he said.