Spirit Airlines opened representation in Plaza Las Americas in SDQ, they will operate flights from OCT 2003.
- Thread starter Papito_Chulo
- Start date
Spirit Airlines opens office in SDQ and will fly from this fall
Didn't know that
I have flown Spirit from DTW to Las Vegas and it wasn't that bad of an airline, not AA but a lot cheaper. Papito Chulo what is the tenative itinerary. Inquiring minds would love to know
dale7(Howard)
I have flown Spirit from DTW to Las Vegas and it wasn't that bad of an airline, not AA but a lot cheaper. Papito Chulo what is the tenative itinerary. Inquiring minds would love to know
dale7(Howard)
More expansion...
Spirit to expand fleet, add flights
BY RAJIV VYAS
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
June 28, 2003
Spirit Airlines, the second-largest carrier at Detroit Metro Airport, is trying to raise $25 million to $50 million so it can nearly double the number of planes in its fleet and offer consumers more choices in the next five years, a company executive said Friday.
Detroit's biggest low-cost carrier said it is meeting investment bankers and money managers that invest in privately held companies and expects to finalize a deal in the next three to six months, said Ned Homfeld, Spirit chairman and cofounder.
The goal is to offer consumers more flights and increase the number of destinations the carrier flies to, he said. Spirit wants "to get to the next level," Homfeld said, with "a brand new generation of airplanes" and almost doubling the size of its fleet from 27 to 50.
"We want to have a better balance sheet and be better capitalized to continue our growth," Homfeld said.
Once the company raises funds, it plans to offer stock to the public by early 2006. The stock offering could generate about $100 million so the company can expand.
Founded as Charter One, a charter carrierin Eastpointe in 1980, the company focused on flights between Detroit, Atlantic City, Las Vegas and the Bahamas. It began scheduled service in 1990 and was renamed Spirit in May 1992. In 1999, the airline moved its headquarters to Miramar, Fla., but more than 1,000 employees work in southeastern Michigan.
Currently, Spirit has 110 daily flights, 20-25 of them from Detroit. Homfeld said the airline wants to have at least 200 daily flights in the next five years with 40 to 50 from Detroit.
Today, the airline flies more than four of every 100 passengers at Detroit Metro and is steadily gaining market share. The largest carrier, Northwest Airlines, flies about 75 of every 100.
Spirit has 27 MD80 airplanes, which can carry about 150 passengers each. That's up from four planes in 1992.
The airline -- which normally does not charge more than $300 for a one-way, nonrefundable, walk-up fare -- said it plans to buy four MD80s by the end of the year. It's seeking regulatory approval to start flights from Detroit to Cancun, Mexico, and Washington, D.C.
Spirit's plans to expandcome at a time when the airline industry is limping. U.S. carriers have lost more than $10 billion since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the global aviation industry has lost almost $30 billion.
David Strine, analyst at New York investment bank Bear Sterns & Co., said: "The industry is still suffering but we are seeing some signs of life. . . . Fuel prices are still relatively high but the airlines are working to cut other operating costs like labor."
Homfeld said that while the timing may not be the best, the company has proved it can survive in some of the toughest economic conditions.
"We have made a dramatic turnaround in all kinds of areas," said Homfeld. He said the company lost money in 2002, but it cut costs and was profitable in the first quarter of this year and should make money in the second quarter. Investors "are more responsive than they have ever been," Homfeld said.
Spirit has also managed to grow when most airlines are struggling. "We have been successful in keeping passengers flying," said airline Chief Executive Officer Jacob Schorr.
Between 2000 and 2002, Spirit's ticket sales rose at an annual average of about 15 percent to $403 million, though incentive discounts resulted in losses in 2002. Northwest's revenue plunged by about 16 percent. Between 1997 and 2002, Spirit's revenues grew by an annual average of 38 percent.
Schorr said Spirit has one of the lowest operating costs in the industry. In the first quarter, it cost Spirit 7.5 cents to fly one mile per available seat, slightly more than the 7.41 cents for Southwest and the 7.19 cents for JetBlue, its low-fare competitors.
And while large carriers have been laying off people, Spirit has been hiring.
Spirit to expand fleet, add flights
BY RAJIV VYAS
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
June 28, 2003
Spirit Airlines, the second-largest carrier at Detroit Metro Airport, is trying to raise $25 million to $50 million so it can nearly double the number of planes in its fleet and offer consumers more choices in the next five years, a company executive said Friday.
Detroit's biggest low-cost carrier said it is meeting investment bankers and money managers that invest in privately held companies and expects to finalize a deal in the next three to six months, said Ned Homfeld, Spirit chairman and cofounder.
The goal is to offer consumers more flights and increase the number of destinations the carrier flies to, he said. Spirit wants "to get to the next level," Homfeld said, with "a brand new generation of airplanes" and almost doubling the size of its fleet from 27 to 50.
"We want to have a better balance sheet and be better capitalized to continue our growth," Homfeld said.
Once the company raises funds, it plans to offer stock to the public by early 2006. The stock offering could generate about $100 million so the company can expand.
Founded as Charter One, a charter carrierin Eastpointe in 1980, the company focused on flights between Detroit, Atlantic City, Las Vegas and the Bahamas. It began scheduled service in 1990 and was renamed Spirit in May 1992. In 1999, the airline moved its headquarters to Miramar, Fla., but more than 1,000 employees work in southeastern Michigan.
Currently, Spirit has 110 daily flights, 20-25 of them from Detroit. Homfeld said the airline wants to have at least 200 daily flights in the next five years with 40 to 50 from Detroit.
Today, the airline flies more than four of every 100 passengers at Detroit Metro and is steadily gaining market share. The largest carrier, Northwest Airlines, flies about 75 of every 100.
Spirit has 27 MD80 airplanes, which can carry about 150 passengers each. That's up from four planes in 1992.
The airline -- which normally does not charge more than $300 for a one-way, nonrefundable, walk-up fare -- said it plans to buy four MD80s by the end of the year. It's seeking regulatory approval to start flights from Detroit to Cancun, Mexico, and Washington, D.C.
Spirit's plans to expandcome at a time when the airline industry is limping. U.S. carriers have lost more than $10 billion since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the global aviation industry has lost almost $30 billion.
David Strine, analyst at New York investment bank Bear Sterns & Co., said: "The industry is still suffering but we are seeing some signs of life. . . . Fuel prices are still relatively high but the airlines are working to cut other operating costs like labor."
Homfeld said that while the timing may not be the best, the company has proved it can survive in some of the toughest economic conditions.
"We have made a dramatic turnaround in all kinds of areas," said Homfeld. He said the company lost money in 2002, but it cut costs and was profitable in the first quarter of this year and should make money in the second quarter. Investors "are more responsive than they have ever been," Homfeld said.
Spirit has also managed to grow when most airlines are struggling. "We have been successful in keeping passengers flying," said airline Chief Executive Officer Jacob Schorr.
Between 2000 and 2002, Spirit's ticket sales rose at an annual average of about 15 percent to $403 million, though incentive discounts resulted in losses in 2002. Northwest's revenue plunged by about 16 percent. Between 1997 and 2002, Spirit's revenues grew by an annual average of 38 percent.
Schorr said Spirit has one of the lowest operating costs in the industry. In the first quarter, it cost Spirit 7.5 cents to fly one mile per available seat, slightly more than the 7.41 cents for Southwest and the 7.19 cents for JetBlue, its low-fare competitors.
And while large carriers have been laying off people, Spirit has been hiring.