Post by Jonathan Norman

My recent post about Southwest Airlines brought a lot of questions and messages, with many also asking for Spirit Airlines situation. I worked for many years in the aviation industry not only performing complex engineering processes for IT companies, airports, and airlines but also worked on strategy with upper management to define one crucial factor... "added value... It is impossible to be successful in business without added value... it is your differentiator, what makes you unique, the reason your clients will come back. It is my perception that Southwest Airlines lost its added value but still has a big network to play with and recalibrate. In the case of Spirit Airlines, they never found their added value, and their network never made sense for the general public. In a market where you have to compete with massive companies such as United Airlines American Airlines and Delta Air Lines the target is to serve a specific niche market where you can build from. Look at Allegiant, Alaska Airlines, JSX or even JetBlue on their beginnings. Gather your strength before going nationwide in the most mature market in the planet. Find your target customer persona and exploit their needs... do you cater Gen X? Millenials? Gen Z? Are your ideal customers executives? families? casual travelers? budget travelers? If so, what is the best location to cover those clients... clearly many airlines have a product mismatch in different areas of their business. If you are a low budget airline, you cannot be based in Ft Lauderdale your macroeconomics just don't work... What are your thoughts regarding Spirit Airlines required moves to get their business back on track? or its liquidation the only option at this point? Boeing Airbus LATAM Airlines avianca Aviation Festival Americas GOL Linhas Aéreas Brendan McKittrick Max Bohn Otto Gergye Juan Camilo Davila Rupen Singh Philloura Dr. Joe Leader Dr. James Pearson Thomas Jaeger Airports Council International - Latin America and Caribbean - ACI LAC Arturo Lan Embraer Stephan Hannemann Basil Gygax Julius Thairu OAG Aeromexico Anko van der Werff Hossam Elhamy Shaker Abiy Makonnen Beri (Capt.) Orkun Altintas International Air Transport Association (IATA) Javier Paredes #aviation #airlines #airports #aviationnews #spiritairlines #airliners