Spirit Airlines, one of the first big ultra-low-cost U.S. carriers with a full-on business plan of low fares and many extra (and often high) fees is looking for a softer image these days as it hopes to start earning profits again.
A couple of weeks ago, the airline let go of its change and cancelation fees, following the legacy airlines and at least one of its ULCC competitors. This week it's increasing the allowed size of checked bags from 40 pounds to 50 (although it's not getting rid of the checked bag charge) and its extending the validity of credits it issues from 90 day to a full year.
Spirit has been losing money since at least the beginning of the pandemic, and had hoped for a merger, first with Frontier and then with JetBlue, but the merger plan was blocked by a lawsuit.
Spirit chief commercial officer Matt Klein announced the changes, saying "Spirit has changed the game before and we're doing it again with this first round of initiatives that will lead the way to a new era of low-fare, high-value flying." Easing the restrictions should help it better compete with basic economy fares from the legacy carriers who, ironically, created them as a move to compete with Spirit.
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