Apparently there are few airlines in the world that are as misunderstood as much as the US low cost carrier Spirit Airlines. This much hated airline uses the normal low-cost model of charging for everything it can - including carry-on bags, pre-assigned seating, food and beverage, credit card handling charges and so on. It also has one of the tightest seat pitches of any airline in the world, just 28″ of space, to which the American traveller have to squeeze themselves. (United, by comparison, has between 30-36″ in economy).
Spirit's marketing campaigns have often left a lot to be desired, many are seen as tasteless. However, the management care little about the product or the service, they are just in the business to make money, so passenger satisfaction isn't something they even consider - As Spirit’s CEO, Ben Baldaza is famously quoted, “Let [the customer] tell the world how bad we are. He’s never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny.”
The airline doesn't care about its reputation, indeed its turning all that hate into yet another marketing gimmick - A new campaign launched this week called Hate Thousand Miles invites passengers to voice their “hate” over the airline and the industry at large in a light-hearted effort to let out some steam. In return, passengers will receive 8,000 miles gratis, almost enough for a free one way trip on the airline. Only thing is - in order to get enough miles to take a free flight, you've got to buy one first, earning the 2,000 or so required.
