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    How Spirit Became the 'Best' Airline in America

    The Hustle
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    Spirit went from punchline to top performer. In 2025, WalletHub named it the #1 airline in America.

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    00:00 Speaker A

    Spirit Airlines used to be a punch line.

    00:03 Speaker A

    Late flights, surprise fees, customers hated it.

    00:06 Speaker A

    In fact, by 2015, it was averaging over eight complaints per 100,000 passengers, more than three times the industry average.

    00:13 Speaker A

    Why?

    00:14 Speaker A

    Spirit charged for everything and packed planes tighter than anyone else.

    00:18 Speaker A

    28 inches of seat pitch, no recline, and zero backup planes.

    00:23 Speaker A

    When things went wrong, the whole operation unraveled.

    00:26 Speaker A

    But in 2016, Spirit hit reset.

    00:28 Speaker A

    New CEO, new strategy.

    00:31 Speaker A

    Add time between flights, tie exec bonuses to on-time arrivals, invest in comfort and customer service.

    00:37 Speaker A

    It added Wi-Fi, redesigned seats and launched bundled pricing tiers.

    00:42 Speaker A

    By 2025, Spirit had the youngest fleet, top one-time arrival rankings, and even won the FAA's Diamond Award for safety.

    00:48 Speaker A

    Now, Spirit is considering becoming a premium airline with premium pricing, possibly leaving its low-cost roots behind.

    00:55 Speaker A

    So yeah, Spirit got better, but will it stay that way?

    00:59 Speaker A

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