Spirit Airlines, known for its ultra-low-cost model that charges for almost everything, is introducing a new “Go Big” class of tickets, which can be considered a form of business class seating. This new class offers extra-wide seats in the front of the cabin, which have been available before but now come with added perks like snacks, drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), a carry-on bag, a checked bag, and streaming access, all included in the ticket price. Previously, even passengers who paid extra for the larger seats had to pay additional fees for these items. The “Go Big” class also includes priority check-in and boarding, which are new features.
Spirit will also allow passengers to pay more for seats in rows where the middle seat won’t be sold. This move highlights the difficulty airlines have in making money from low-cost tickets, a trend that Spirit itself helped start. Spirit’s pricing model, which lets passengers pay extra for various add-ons, has influenced major carriers to introduce similar “basic economy” options.
Spirit CEO Ted Christie stated that this move marks a new era for the airline, offering enhanced options not previously available. The airline has struggled to be profitable, with its last profitable year being 2019, before the pandemic hit. Despite occasional profitable quarters, Spirit often reports losses and is expected to report another quarterly loss soon.
While larger airlines like American, United, and Delta have seen record revenues, especially from premium seating, low-cost carriers like Spirit have faced challenges. Spirit attempted mergers with Frontier Airlines and JetBlue Airways, but the latter was blocked by a federal judge to maintain competition and prevent fare increases.
Larger carriers’ ability to sell premium seats, both in business and first class, and “economy plus” seats with extra legroom, has helped them financially. Southwest Airlines, another low-fare carrier, recently announced it would end its open seating policy to offer extra legroom for a premium price in some rows starting in 2025. However, Southwest has no plans to introduce wider business class seats. Despite being the most profitable U.S. airline before the pandemic, Southwest has also faced financial struggles recently.
An earlier version of this story did not clarify the differences in the new class of tickets or that the larger seats had been available in the past.