NEW YORK (AP) – Ben Baldanza, who led the industry push for more and more airline fees, is out as CEO of Spirit Airlines.
Spirit was losing money until Baldanza, 54, took over in 2006. He oversaw the airline’s transformation into an “ultra-low cost carrier,” an airline that didn’t include anything in its base fare and charged extra for seat assignments, snacks, soda, boarding passes and even using the overhead bin. To cram more people into its jets, Baldanza stripped passengers of the ability to recline their seats. He spun the move as making the seats “pre-reclined.”
Known for his brash, no-excuses style, Baldanza said that if people didn’t like the fees, they could fly another airline.
Baldanza at times reveled in the animosity that he helped to generate. Taped to the side of a corner bookshelf in his office was an expletive laden email from one disgruntled traveler that, in part, read: “I just want to let you know that your company sucks and your policy will run it into the ground.”
Baldanza’s over-the-top style often carried over into the airline’s ads.