OPS 574 UP Spirit Airlines Reducing the Cost of No Frills Case Study
Sufficiency of Process Improvement
Spirit Airlines’ old low-cost model has been used by many airlines to undertake their operations. Spirit Airlines aspires to become a low-cost carrier by targeting consumers who pay more attention to the price. By offering no-frills flying, the company expects to obtain the title of a low-fare airline. Based on this, I believe process improvement alone is insufficient to respond to Spirit’s declining profits. For instance, they should enhance travelers’ loyalty by concentrating on areas where other airlines pay low attention, concentrating on non-ticket revenues, and maximizing asset utilization.
Changes Should Spirit Make
Spirit Airlines should do away with traditional services that contribute little to revenues. Non-essential services should be discarded, while services should be segmented so that customers can be accorded the opportunity to pay for each separately.
Integrating Empathy
Spirit Airlines can integrate empathy into its dealings with its employees and customers by giving them incentives that reduce costs. For instance, the company should reduce customer costs by reducing baggage fees and encouraging customers to travel with light baggage. Further, the company should consider giving out an additional package of products and services to enhance non-ticket income and offer third-party insurance for travel (Pedersen, 2021). Essentially, integrating empathy into company dealings will make a difference because it will change the perception of customers and employees. Even though the initiative’s benefits may not be realized immediately, the impact can occur in the long run.
Measurable Outcomes to Seek During the Process Improvement Effort
During the process improvement, Spirit Airlines should measure the change in revenues. First, they should measure the percentage increase in non-ticket revenue associated with low-cost behavior (Rosenow et al., 2020). Further, Spirit should measure the fuel consumption and time-saving due to increased baggage charges to enhance light traveling. Measuring outcomes is necessary to understand whether process improvement efforts are paying fruit.
References
Pedersen, C. L. (2021). Empathy‐based marketing. Psychology & Marketing, 38(3), 470-480.
Rosenow, J., Michling, P., Schultz, M., & Schönberger, J. (2020). Evaluation of strategies to reduce the cost impacts of flight delays on total network costs. Aerospace, 7(11), 165.
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Question 
The following exercise allows you to practice collaboration skills to develop strategies for process improvement.
Complete the case study exercise, Spirit Airlines: Reducing the Cost of “No-Frills.” A transcript of this interactive exercise is also available.
OPS 574 UP Spirit Airlines Reducing the Cost of No Frills Case Study
Consider what you learned in the experience and respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
Is process improvement alone a sufficient response to Spirit’s declining profits?
What other changes should Spirit make?
In what ways can the airline integrate empathy into its dealings with both employees and customers? Do you think it would make a difference?
What measurable outcomes should Sprit seek during the process improvement effort? Why?