Highlights
Spirit Airlines is based in Miramar, Fla., and operates 185 flights daily to 36 cities including Aruba, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Cancun, Chicago, Detroit, Fort Myers, Guatemala City, Las Vegas, Lima, Los Angeles, Managua, Montego Bay, Myrtle Beach, Nassau, New York, Orlando, Port-au-Prince, San Jose, San Salvador, Santo Domingo, Tampa, Washington D.C. and. during the winter only, West Palm Beach. Ned Hornfeld founded the airline in 1980 as Detroit-based vacation tour operator called Charter One that provided travel packages to Atlantic City, Las Vegas and the Bahamas. In 1992, the company bought jets and changed its named to Spirit Airlines. The following year, Spirit began flying to...
Spirit Airlines is based in Miramar, Fla., and operates 185 flights daily to 36 cities including Aruba, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Cancun, Chicago, Detroit, Fort Myers, Guatemala City, Las Vegas, Lima, Los Angeles, Managua, Montego Bay, Myrtle Beach, Nassau, New York, Orlando, Port-au-Prince, San Jose, San Salvador, Santo Domingo, Tampa, Washington D.C. and. during the winter only, West Palm Beach. Ned Hornfeld founded the airline in 1980 as Detroit-based vacation tour operator called Charter One that provided travel packages to Atlantic City, Las Vegas and the Bahamas. In 1992, the company bought jets and changed its named to Spirit Airlines. The following year, Spirit began flying to Florida cities, an affiliation that would culminate in December 1999 when it moved its headquarters from Detroit to Miramar. Unlike other airlines, the firm has strived to remain privately owned. In 2004, it raised $125 million in equity by selling a majority stake to investors led by Oaktree Capital Management, a Los Angeles venture capital fund that later added another $100 million to the coffers. That helped the company begin its linchpin project of replacing its entire fleet of MD-80s with the more cost-efficient Airbus planes. Oaktree continues to be a major investor, but control switched over in July 2006 to another private equity firm from Phoenix, Indigo Partners LLC, run by the former chairman of America West Airlines, William Franke. Spirit parlayed rock-bottom fares and huge increases in short-haul service to Latin America and the Caribbean to become the busiest airline at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, accounting for 20 percent of its passengers in 2007. But severe, controversial cost cutting measures called the Ultra Low Cost Carrier approach (including charging passengers to check baggage) led to a significant hike in customer complaints about understaffing, long lines and cancelled flights in 2007. At the same time, destinations appealing to South Florida's diverse population and promotions like the $9 fare boosted patronage to top 3.3 million passengers over the first half of 2007. As a result, Spirit declared a profit for the first half of that year of $22 million compared to three straight years of losses. The company's headquarters is at 2800 Executive Way, Miramar, and its main telephone number is 954-447-7965.
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Spirit pilots file lawsuit, claim airline violating contract
South Florida Sun-SentinelThe Air Line Pilots Association, representing the more than 500 Spirit Airlines pilots, filed suit Wednesday alleging the Miramar-based air carrier is violating its 2003 labor contract. The pilots' complaint was filed in the federal court in eastern...Tags: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Trials, Work Rules Contract Issues, Unions, Unemployment
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Airlines improving
The nation's airlines were on time more often in July compared with a year ago, and customers filed fewer complaints about their baggage, the Transportation Department said. On-time performance as reported by 19 carriers: 75.7% Overall on-time...Tags: JetBlue, Fort Lauderdale, Miramar, New York
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Why do airlines still float free drinks?
Tribune staff reporterOne by one, the nation's airlines have snatched back freebies that fliers once took for granted -- baggage checks, meals. (Whoever thought there would come a day when we would miss airline food?) But one service remains relatively unscathed: the...Tags: Transportation, California, Transportation Accidents, Forrester Research Incorporated, Air Transportation Industry
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Departure of airlines from South Florida means fewer tourists
South Florida Sun-SentinelAirlines are retreating from South Florida, which could leave hotels and restaurants with fewer tourists this fall. This month, carriers using Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport will offer 94,160 fewer seats than in September 2007, a 9.6...Tags: John F. Kennedy, Broward County, Hotels and Accommodations, Rentals, Fort Lauderdale
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Fort Lauderdale: Pilots protest furlough policy
Nearly 40 Spirit Airlines' pilots picketed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Monday, protesting a demand that furloughed pilots continue to fly after a Sept. 1 layoff date, said Art Luby, assistant director of representation for the...Tags: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Miramar, Layoffs and Downsizing, Unemployment
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Pilots protest furlough policy at Fort Lauderdale airport
South Florida Sun-SentinelNearly 40 Spirit Airlines' pilots picketed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Monday, protesting a demand that furloughed pilots continue to fly after a Sept. 1 layoff date, said Art Luby, assistant director of representation for the Air...Tags: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Miramar, Layoffs and Downsizing, Unemployment
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Spirit accuses pilots of sickout, but union denies it
South Florida Sun-SentinelSpirit Airlines passengers are starting to feel the effects of growing labor tensions at the Miramar-based carrier. A Spirit spokeswoman said Wednesday that a small group of disgruntled pilots are "illegally calling in sick" in an effort to disrupt the...Tags: Transportation, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Unions, Unemployment, Fort Lauderdale
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OIA flights clipped
Sentinel Staff WriterTravelers to and from Central Florida will have fewer choices this fall about where and when they can fly out of Orlando International Airport. An analysis of fall schedules shows that the number of seats, flights and destinations available out of OIA...Tags: Forest Hills, Orlando International Airport, Miami International Airport, Energy Saving, Miami (Miami-Dade, Florida)
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June 23-27
Tuesday, June 24 New Summer Toys Twister Hopscotch: Ages 4-6 $19.99 - www.hasbro.com Rubik's Revolution: Ages 5-105 $19.99 - www.rubiksrevolution.com and www.technosourceusa.com UNO FLASH Ages 7+ $29.99 - www.mattel.com Fancy Nancy line of role-...Tags: Lake Forest, Ohio, Clothing and Textiles Industry, Books and Magazines, Nintendo Company Ltd.
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Airlines playing nasty nickel-and-dime game
ISSUE: Surprise — another airline fee. You have to wonder if it is a contest the airline industry is playing — a contest to decide how they can anger the most customers. Airline passengers are used to hassles at check-in lines and delayed...Tags: American Airlines, Inc., Miramar, Transportation, Air Transportation Industry, Air Transportation
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Construction continues on 'Harry Potter' attraction, but Universal isn't talking about it
Jason Garcia and Sara K. Clarke, Sentinel Staff WritersDevelopment of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has moved into a new phase, forcing Universal Orlando to close a children's roller coaster, a restaurant, a gift shop, a bar, and a footpath that once ran past them all in Islands of Adventure. Last week...Tags: Marriott International Incorporated, Orlando International Airport, Hotels and Accommodations, Schools, Kennedy Airport
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Spirit Airlines, others cut flights to Caribbean
Expensive jet fuel and a soft American economy are threatening to sink Caribbean tourism as airline ticket prices soar and flights are sharply reduced, choking the flow of the vacationers that many tiny islands depend upon. Tourism is the economic...Tags: Transportation, New York, Transportation Accidents, Petroleum Industry, Tourism and Leisure
Sep 5, 2008
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Sep 4, 2008
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Sep 4, 2008
|Story| Chicago Tribune
Sep 3, 2008
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Sep 2, 2008
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Sep 2, 2008
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Aug 14, 2008
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Jun 29, 2008
|Story| Orlando Sentinel
Jun 20, 2008
|Story| WGN-TV
Jun 17, 2008
|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Jul 14, 2008
|Story| Orlando Sentinel
Jun 18, 2008
|Story| Chicago Tribune
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