Spirit Airlines CEO plans to be patient in Pittsburgh

Fornaro undeterred by low capacity rate

Spirit Airlines landed in Pittsburgh in a big way last spring and summer, with flights to seven destinations, including Los Angeles. This week, it will launch seasonal service to Fort Myers and Tampa.

It might be a stretch to say Spirit is flying high at Pittsburgh International Airport — not with plans to drop its Houston nonstop this week. But CEO Robert Fornaro likes what he has seen so far, even if passenger loads aren’t quite up to the ultra low-cost carrier’s usual standards.

“I would say we’re feeling pretty good about where we are,” he said during an interview at the Fairmont Hotel Downtown on Monday. “I think we’re on track. I’m here to make sure the momentum is maintained and actually, hopefully, we can accelerate it.”

So far, Spirit’s planes to Los Angeles and its other destinations, including Dallas/Fort Worth, Myrtle Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Las Vegas, have been filled to the “70s and 80s” percent range.

That’s a bit lower than the 85 percent on average the carrier likes to see on its jets on an annual basis. But Mr. Fornaro isn’t much concerned, saying that it’s still early and that Spirit got a later rollout than it would have liked in Pittsburgh.

With the addition of Fort Myers and Tampa, Spirit will still have a sizable presence in Pittsburgh.

Even with the loss of the Houston flight, Mr. Fornaro

was still looking ahead in terms of possible new destinations. He hinted, “If you look at where we’re big, those are going to be the first placesthat we look at.”

That could mean Minneapolis or more destinations in Florida. The airport has been lobbying for the San Francisco bay area and Seattle. Mr. Fornaro also said Spirit may consider flights to the Caribbean or Latin or Central America, as the airline looks to add service systemwide to those areas.

What Mr. Fornaro doesn’t foresee is Spirit pulling a Frontier, which made a big opening splash touching down in Pittsburgh with flights to five big markets and then systematically pulled back, leaving only seasonal flights to Denver and Orlando.

“I think we’re a little bit more patient,” he said. “I’m not saying we would never consider leaving. Not all the markets make it. Sometimes there are circumstances that you don’t do well. ... But we have a pretty good track record of giving things chances.”

In some respects, 2017 has been a trying year for Spirit andMr. Fornaro, who became itsCEO in January 2016.

In May, it was forced to cancel hundreds of flights after some of its pilots, who are still negotiating a contract with the airline, refused to take assignments.

The cancellations cost Spirit $18 million in refunds and other payments. They also led to an ugly incident at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport where some travelers, frustrated over cancellations, clashed with Spirit employees.

Spirit eventually won a court order that required the pilots union to return to the status quo. While the contract talks have yet to produce an agreement, Mr. Fornaro expects one soon.

Another sore spot has been poor customer service rankings. It’s not unusual for Spirit to finish dead last among carriers in part because of delays and cancellations.

Mr. Fornaro, former CEO of AirTran Airways, said Spirit has been doing a lot to address such issues.

The carrier’s on-time performance in October was 86.5 percent, second among airlines, he said. The airline also has been putting flight attendants and other employees through customer service training.

One thing Mr. Fornaro won’t apologize for is Spirit’s a la carte pricing. While its base fare is very cheap, it charges extra for everything from a carry-on to a checked bag to a specific seat to more legroom.

Even with all the extras, he said, the airline’s fare is generally about 35 percent lower than what other airlines charge.

He did note that Spirit has started packaging amenities to provide discounts.

In addition to its flights from Pittsburgh, Spirit flies to Orlando, Fort Lauderale and Myrtle Beach out of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe. Mr. Fornaro sees the two airports complementing one another.

With Amazon’s proposed second headquarters all the buzz these days, Mr. Fornaro was asked whether Pittsburgh would get a coveted nonstop to Seattle should it win the big economic development prize, with its promise of up to 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment.

“I actually think in that case there’s probably a good chance,” he said.