Competing with Ryanair in a race to the bottom, Spirit has announced another "enhancement" now appearing on select A320s:
Spirit Airlines, the air carrier that recently announced a $45 fee for carry-on bags, has launched another change that may not sit well with passengers.
The Florida carrier’s latest money-saving idea is seats that passengers cannot adjust. The airline calls them "pre-reclined" seats, meaning they are already reclined about 3 inches.
Want to lean back to take a nap or sit up to eat a snack? Sorry, these seats won’t budge.
The airline says the slim new leather seats, built by Brice Seating in Pacoima, are 30% lighter, cutting down on fuel costs and offering 20% more space under the seat. By eliminating a steeper recline, the airline can also fit more seats into the plane.
I’m sure the fuel prices factored into the decision, but to understand the real reason Spirit is installing new seats:
Spirit can seat 33 more passengers in the "pre-reclined" seats in the airline’s new Airbus A320 than in an older Airbus model with conventional reclining seats.
Five more rows on an A320? That’s going to be tight. As usual, though, Spirit knows how to spin it:
"In addition to providing an even greater recline and more living space, the lightweight design substantially lowers our fuel consumption, which is one of our greatest operating costs," Chief Marketing Officer Barry Biffle said.
Looks for these new configurations on flights between FLL and DCA/LGA. Or better yet, avoid those routes and avoid Spirit completely.
I don’t agree that Ryanair and Spirit are in what one could call a “race to the bottom.” They sell themselves, unabashedly and unapologetically, as low-cost carriers. They make no qualms or claims, otherwise.
To me, “race to the bottom” applies much more when a carrier that tries to market itself as world class, aka, United, removes something key, and still tries to call itself world class. That, to me, is the ultimate race for the bottom.
@Gray: I see the distinction you are drawing, but give me some more insight into your thoughts. What downgrades at UA are you talking about? No meal service in Y, baggage fees, change fees?
I think it’s GREAT. I can’t stand when someone in front of you reclines their seat back in your space. It’s rude and wrong to do and now people don’t have to deal with that which is very nice.