Spirit hopes to win over fliers with brand overhaul

Spirit Airlines knows it has critics. But the carrier — perhaps known as much for add-on fees and customer complaints as it is for discount fares — is betting that the more fliers know about it, the more they'll be satisfied with their experience on Spirit.

That's led Spirit to roll out a "relaunch" of its brand, part of an effort to educate customers about what they'll get — and what they won't — when they book a ticket on the carrier.

The goal?

"Let's not let anybody be surprised about Spirit," CEO Ben Baldanza says about the effort. "Let them know exactly who we are."

As part of the relaunch, officially unveiled today (May 7), Spirit is tweaking its logo and rolling out a revamped website that includes "how to" videos meant to teach customers about what they'll get when they fly on the airline.

Spirit also is tackling its no-frills aspects that can be unpopular — such as its Airbus aircraft, which are packed with more than two dozen seats more than those of its rivals that fly the same planes. More passengers allow it to pass along lower fares, Spirit says.

"A little cozier seating and fewer expensive extras mean lower fares for you," the company says in announcing its brand overhaul.

An unabashed no-frills carrier, Spirit has faced a range of criticism targeting everything from its tight "pre-reclined" seats to fees that leave some unsuspecting customers feeling blindsided.

Baldanza believes that if customers know what to expect when they fly Spirit, they will be more satisfied with the carrier — and less likely to complain — if they understand the compromises they're making to snag a bargain-basement fare.

"That's the idea. We don't want any gotchas," Baldanza says.

"We have this awesome aspect that everyone seems love about us," he adds, referring to the company's "really low fares."

There will be something of a color change as well. Spirit won't be repainting its planes — it would be too expensive, says Baldanza — but the carrier will gradually start to employ a black-and-bright-yellow color scheme as part of its attempt at a brand overhaul.

Baldanza says the imaging and messaging are an effort to "start telling people what we're all about in a way they can understand and feel really smart about buying a ticket on us."

"Or," he adds, travelers can "feel smart in saying, 'You know, I'll pay $50 more and go to the other airline because (Spirit's) not really for me.' Either answer is OK."

Spirit's effort also has an internal focus, including training for employees about how to better interact with customers. That effort already had been launched ahead of today's public unveiling.

That internal aspect will be key to the making the new image work, says Henry Harteveldt, an industry analyst with Atmosphere Research.

"It is the most important pillar of this marketing campaign," he says, calling it crucial for Spirit to "re-train employees and help them understand the phrases to use with customers ahead of this marketing campaign."

"The employee initiative is the center pole in the tent. Without it, this entire initiative will fail," Harteveldt says.

But overall, Harteveldt thinks the brand makeover could pay off.

"Spirit is smart to do this because if the customer has a better understanding of what Spirit Airlines' product and experience is, then they'll be less likely to be unhappy with what they're buying," Harteveldt says. "The problem Spirit has faced in the past is that it's not always been very clear about what the customer is buying. Spirit is very different from most of the other airlines operating."

"The challenge will be in the execution," Harteveldt adds.

Spirit's image overhaul comes less than a month after report by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund found that the carrier generated the most complaints relative to its size among U.S. airlines. The report was a hot topic among U.S. media, but Baldanza says the initiative launched today has been in the works for more than a year.

He described it as part of a natural "evolution" for Spirit, which switched to its current "ultra-low-cost" model in 2006 and then went public in 2011. Those transitions took most of the company's focus, but Baldanza says the company is now ready to tackle its image.

"We're at the point now where we've got to start addressing the issues that have been sort of little black clouds over us, and let's start attacking things," Baldanza says about the timing. "Let's not have any more gotchas. Let's not have people surprised that we do what we do. Because the thing we do best is give you a really low fare. And these are the things it takes to get the low fare. So understand that, and you decide whether that trade-off is good for you."