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Home » News » Ben Baldanza, Former CEO Of Spirit Airlines, Dies At 62
News

Ben Baldanza, Former CEO Of Spirit Airlines, Dies At 62

Matthew Klint Posted onNovember 7, 2024November 7, 2024 9 Comments

a man in a suit and tie

The witty and approachable Ben Baldanza, the charismatic former CEO of Spirit Airlines, has lost his battle with ALS and died at age 62.

RIP Ben Baldanza, Former Spirit Airlines Chief Executive And Ultimate AvGeek

Baldanza was not just a venerable airline executive, but an AvGeek who loved to engage with frequent flyers and even had a podcast (called Airlines Confidential) and column (in Forbes) in which he opined on a wide range of issues.

This week, he lost his battle to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

His career spanned several carriers:

  • American Airlines
  • Northwest Airlines
  • United Parcel Service
  • Continental Airlines
  • Grupo TACA
  • US Airways
  • Spirit Airlines

He was CEO of Spirit Airlines from 2005 to 2016. While the Spirit business model has been called into question due to recent financial struggles, he transformed the carrier into an “ultra-low-cost” business model, opening up air travel to millions of additional Americans and carving out a niche in the industry that I greatly admire (even as an outsider, not a Spirit customer).

I interacted with Baldanza once and found him to be approachable and personable, which are qualities that I appreciate in anyone, but especially industry titans. He even cited me in one of his columns.

But I also appreciated he was a family man, philanthropist, and genuine…oh, I often disagreed with him, especially on airline bailouts, but he did not talk out of both sides of his mouth, which might be a lesson for aspiring and failed politicians…

When my epithet is written, I also want to be known as a man of faith who loved his family, worked hard, and thought outside the box to open travel to more people. RIP, Ben.


> Read More: Airline CEO “Shatters Myths” About Government Aid To Airlines (No, He Actually Doesn’t)


image: Airlines Confidential podcast

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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9 Comments

  1. Christian Reply
    November 7, 2024 at 10:31 am

    IIRC Spirit used to have a CEO who enjoyed taunting passengers with just how bad his airline was by actually offering frequent flier miles to people for publicly sharing their miserable Spirit experiences. From your pleasant eulogy I guess that was someone else.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      November 7, 2024 at 7:12 pm

      Same guy.

      • Christian Reply
        November 7, 2024 at 11:04 pm

        Then I’m truly impressed by your generosity. No sarcasm or satire meant. At least not to you.

  2. Dave Edwards Reply
    November 7, 2024 at 4:26 pm

    Let me guess, you will have to pay for a soda at his funeral.

  3. Tim Daugherty Reply
    November 7, 2024 at 5:36 pm

    What a “wicked” disease, God bless you.

  4. Tim Daugherty Reply
    November 7, 2024 at 5:38 pm

    Welcome to Capitalism

  5. rich Reply
    November 7, 2024 at 6:56 pm

    Unfortunately life ends for all of us at some point, in some cases more gracefully than others. ALS is a tough disease. My mother had something similar but exceptionally rare and it was sad to see her abilities, except for her mind, decline over nearly a decade. My father spent his best years of retirement taking care of her. Her death was probably the only time I saw him nearly come to tears.

    RIP.

  6. Nick Reply
    November 8, 2024 at 1:26 am

    Epitaph?

  7. Dale Reply
    November 27, 2024 at 6:05 am

    Yikes. He passed away at my age.

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