Spirit Airlines – Forgetting that CSR includes being responsible

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) covers such a wide swath of topics that its quite rightly become a great barometer in determining how a company is treating the environment, its customers and its employees. I like to see CSR as a well placed credibility meter but not in the sense that what you do is simply ‘hip’ or ‘a fad’ but more in line with the overall essence of a business. Proper placement of a CSR program shows a commitment to more than just profit but also to delivering goods or a service that is honest, reliable and as described. ‘As described’ is a great phrase and one that many people can debate over but as a consumer it comes down to whether a company delivers what you expected, you might even say that it should be part of your responsibility.

Few industries have experienced more difficulty in the last few decades than the commercial airlines. From deregulation to increased demand, from added competition to rising costs in operations, wages, fuel and technology making a profit has been difficult at best and nearly impossible in recent years. Just look at the list of airlines that have merged, gone bankrupt or simply changed their entire approach to win customers. When you add a growing need for being responsible the list grows increasingly short – it would be fair to say that airlines in general are behind the curve when it comes to CSR practices but should they be simply irresponsible or misleading? I don’t think its acceptable but in the case of Spirit Airlines the behaviour is simply wrong.

You may be familiar with Spirit Airlines, based out of Miami they are one of the so called ‘no frills’ or ‘low cost’ operators who don’t try to challenge the industry giants directly. They usually operate in smaller markets and cut back on some of the luxuries people expect in an effort to bring value to their customers. Southwest are the model for how this can be done efficiently whereas it seems Spirit and others are still learning. The Miami based carrier have been around since 1980 (formerly Charter One) and operate 30 aircraft to a range of different destinations. The company slogan reads “The Ultra Low Cost Airline For The Americas” which sounds really promising but the news that follows seems to contradict that, almost saying we have low airfare but….

The pricing on many airlines is a bit of a gimmick, fares are advertised but hard to acquire, seats are limited and restrictions apply to certain days and times. That is essentially par for the course, most airlines to the same thing but then again most airlines don’t claim to be ultra low cost. I think most of the traveling public are used to the fare wars that go on as a part of choosing to travel by air, however I think their latest announcement will not only alienate customers but it doesn’t show a very open approach. Spirit have announced that they will charge $45 per bag checked at the gate ($30 if in advance) – doesn’t this contradict what their message is when you visit their website? Here’s what is on offer before you even really explore the Spirit Airlines site:

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I don’t see the baggage charge (5 times the cost of a ticket) mentioned anywhere. Its not clear how long airlines can play the ‘find out you need to pay for something that always used to be free’ game as Senators are campaigning to remove the baggage surcharges. For now many critics are reacting to the decision by the airline by stating that its neither an honest or a transparent decision. CSR considers many things, amongst those are whether a service is a valuable product so no argument there with lower airfares but also at stake is the principle of true transparency. Too often these values are associated to sustainable and environmental concerns but they apply equally to straight forward advertising and pricing ‘as expected’ with no hidden costs. Why would someone book what they thought was the lowest fare on the market via Orbitz or a similar site only to find that checking a bag cost as much as the bargain ticket. No customer will complain if the advertised price is the actual price, but I can see ethics being questioned when a significant proportion of the cost for a service was not declared up front.

I hope new rules make the actual airfare include these ‘standard’ extras or better still airlines such as Spirit step up to the plate and charge the amount they need to for a ticket to cover their overheads and make a little profit. That would be ethical, that would be responsible and that would be in the right spirit.