MIRAMAR, Fla. — Spirit Airlines' CEO and president Ben Baldanza will do anything to save a buck, even vacuum his own office.
"There's no reason that we should pay someone to come vacuum my floor," said Baldanza.
He is the ultimate penny-pincher and he brings that philosophy to Spirit. He heads one of the most profitable airlines in the industry, but you wouldn't know it by looking at Spirit's headquarters. It's tucked away in an office park in Miramar, Florida. He claims all of the penny-pinching is so they can pass cost saving down to their customers.
"We love that we can save customers money, and we do it by doing some things that might rub customers the wrong way. Like having seats that don't recline, or having to pay for a bottle of water on board," said Baldanza
Spirit has some of the lowest airfares around -- they call it the "Bare Fare" -- with one-way flights sometimes as low as $35. It's the fees that Spirit is notorious for. They charge fees for everything you can think of.
Just bringing a carry-on bag to store in an overhead bin will cost you $35 when you book the ticket online. If you don't pay when you book, it will cost you $50 at the airport counter. If you get to the gate and they see you with your carry on suitcase in tow, it will cost you $100.
And forget about legroom. Spirit packs as many people on a flight that the FAA will allow.
"When we can spread all those high costs over more people, just like a carpool does, everyone can pay a lower fare," says Baldanza
Spirit Airlines is part of a new movement in "no frills" flying in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, airfares have risen more than 10 percent since 2009.
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has seen a lot of that hurt just in the last year with some of the highest rate hikes of all major airports.
Spirit, along with other low-cost carriers like Allegiant Air and Frontier, are filling the void that many of the major airlines are ignoring, the leisure traveler. They're based on a popular model used in Europe, in which your fare is basically the cost of your seat.
RyanAir, EasyJet and other low-cost carriers make up nearly 20 percent of air traffic in Europe. Spirit, Frontier, and Allegiant Air only make up around 4 percent of total air traffic in the U.S., but it's certainly growing.
And that growing has also come with growing pains.
Lower fares have not necessarily translated into happy flyers. Consumer Reports has Spirit ranked at the bottom of all domestic airlines. They're also ranked very low on travel websites Trip Advisor and Yelp.
Baldanza admits they have an image problem and they're trying to address it. He says most of the hate comes from travelers not understanding how Spirit works, and a lot of that is coming from people that book their flights on other travel websites like Expedia or Travelocity.
That's because the fees aren't listed on other travel websites. That could lead to some shockingly high fees when you arrive at the ticket counter.
The best way to avoid the fees is to book through Spirit.com. This goes for other low cost airlines like Allegiant Air and Frontier. Paying fees ahead of time will also save you money.
Your best bet to avoid fees is to travel with one small personal item. You're allowed one personal item for free that will fit under your seat.
You may think your backpack will automatically be free, but it has to be a really small one. It has to fit in a sizer located at ticketing, if it's too big, it will cost $50.
Costco sells bags specifically designed to fit underneath your seat on low cost airlines like Spirit, Allegiant Air, and Frontier.
WSBTV
