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The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C., Garrison We Local Business Column

Posted on: Thursday, 1 June 2006, 21:00 CDT

By Garrison We, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

May 26--B. Ben Baldanza, only a few days ago, took over as the CEO of Spirit Airlines.

As the new chief executive, he runs a discount airline that plays a significant role in Myrtle Beach, with flights out of the Myrtle Beach International Airport.

He replaces former CEO Jacob Schorr.

Baldanza is taking over at an interesting time for the airline.

The Fort Lauderdale-based carrier, which offers service to 30 cities in the United States, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean, is switching its aging fleet of gas-guzzling MD-80s for 31 Airbus jets. It expects to complete the $2 billion project by September.

Thursday, the airline kicked off nonstop flights from Detroit to San Francisco. Since Detroit is the connecting city for Spirit flights from Myrtle Beach, that opens the airways for Myrtle Beach residents to that California city. In August, locals will be able to fly to Boston on Spirit when it opens additional service from Detroit.

Baldanza answered a few questions for The Sun News as he took over at Spirit.

Ben Baldanza, CEO, Spirit Airlines

QUESTION: The airline industry in many ways is in turmoil. Gas prices continue to plague the industry. Airlines are going under. What lies ahead?

ANSWER: I think the industry will continue to restructure itself. The legacy industry has either used bankruptcy or the environment of bankruptcy to try to lower costs to be more competitive with airlines like Spirit that have evolved since deregulation. I think you will continue to see that and I think you will see more consolidation. Consolidation is one way for airlines to lower cost without threatening revenue performance.

Q: Do you think we might see this trend among discount carriers?

A: I think that's likely as well. The low-cost airlines in the United States are a different breed from the legacies, but many of the issues and challenges we face are similar.

Q: New jets will cost the company $2 billion. What's the return to Spirit as a corporation? What's the benefit to travelers?

A: There are several returns. The first is much greater fuel efficiency. In the fuel environment, there is nothing bigger we can do. The second thing is it lowers maintenance costs. New airplanes have fewer maintenance problems, and they have warranties on many parts.

The third thing it does is provide a much better product for our customers. The Airbus is a bigger airplane, with bigger overhead bins, more comfortable seats and a smoother ride. They have longer range so they can fly to more interesting places.

Q: What are some international markets that Spirit is interested in adding?

A: We today fly to 12 international markets. We fly all of those (South American, Central American, Caribbean) markets nonstop from our hub in Fort Lauderdale. It's harder for us to serve Myrtle Beach to those markets because we are not flying to Myrtle Beach connecting through Fort Lauderdale. We hope that will change some time.

Q: Where will rates go and do you see Spirit charging for services?

A: We are committed to low fares for consumers. That said, we sell very modest snacks on board. In Spirit plus snacks are free. Non-alcoholic beverages are free in coach.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Source: The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)

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