Few brand names have been dragged through the muck like Spirit Airlines.
Some might wonder whether that will lead to the name’s demise — and dry up fertile fodder for comedy — if federal regulators approve the proposed merger between the low-budget Miramar-based Spirit and Frontier Airlines, another low-priced carrier, announced on Monday.
Flyers tend to sound off: Spirit by far had the highest number of complaints — 13.25 per 100,000 passengers — between January and September 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah makes fun of it as often as possible. A legion of standup comics all have Spirit routines, perhaps because they’ve flown with the airline so much.
They joke about the checked bag fees, late departures, cramped seats and the discount-minded customer base. “Flying Spirit Airlines is one step above shipping yourself somewhere in a box,” comic Ryan Dalton says in his routine.
But all of this comedy gold may come to an end if Frontier, as majority owners often do, decides to retire the Spirit name.
Given that Frontier Airlines is also mocked for behaving as, well, a low-budget airline, it’s possible that the merged company will decide to jettison both names and start with a brand new name. Spirit CEO Ted Christie said in an interview Monday that no decision will be made about the merged company’s name until the deal is scheduled to close this fall.
Sofia Johan, associate professor at Florida Atlantic University’s School of Business, says of the jokes: “Remember the old adage that says there is no such thing as bad publicity.”
Johan isn’t convinced that names matter anyway to consumers looking for the lowest prices. “They can call themselves Maybe-We’ll-Get-You-There Airlines, and people will still book,” she says.
Still, the loss of the Spirit name could mean the end of an era for comedy bits like these:
Brent Pella — “I really want to travel more but never again on Spirit Airlines. You guys have flown on Spirit Airlines? The Motel 6 of the sky? You’ve experienced that? ... I feel that Spirit is so cheap, they just tape a picture of clouds to the outside of the windows and drive you to your next location.”
Mario Tony — “I went online to find the cheapest airline I could possibly find to get a round trip from Atlanta to L.A. and L.A. back to Atlanta. I went to Spirit.com. I booked a round trip on Spirit. $42. ... but you better not check no bag. You hear me? That bag gonna be $6,000.”
Maher Matta — “The plane didn’t actually take off. A giant man came out and picked us up and threw us to Las Vegas.”
Brent Gill — “Here’s my question. How is it possible for an airline to be worse than Frontier? ... Spirit Airlines is like the Medicaid of the sky, you know? Like I was surprised they don’t take food stamps for snacks.”
Lewis Belt — “Spirit is not even like an airplane. Spirit is like a big old bus that goes in the sky. ... You know most planes shake when you go through the clouds? Spirit, you can be on the runway.”
Jason Salmon — “The other thing I like about Spirit is that they’re honest: They’re like, ‘Look, you think you can travel cheaper than us? Enjoy your drive.' ”
Ryan Dalton — “Folks, you’ve got to try it once. Flying Spirit Airlines is one step above shipping yourself somewhere in a box. The difference is the tape. You’ve got to pay for the tape on Spirit Airlines.”
