Spirit assures opportunities abound to stimulate traffic in the US market

US ultra low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines believes consolidation among the country's major carriers and larger low-fare airlines continues to create opportunities for niche players to fill service gaps created by the four mergers that have occurred in the industry since 2005. The airline remains so bullish on its growth prospects domestically that it is growing capacity during 2013 by 18% to 22%, a growth rate the carrier aims to maintain through 2015. But Spirit could face hurdles in maintaining that explosive growth as its unit costs continue to climb, and its continued penetration of the top US markets will also inevitably slow as the opportunities for exploitation shrink.

After turning its focus away from building up a strong presence in the Caribbean and Latin America from its Fort Lauderdale hub, Spirit during the last couple of years has set its sights on the domestic market, making a push into legacy strongholds under the premise that it can charge ultra low fares and stimulate low-yielding traffic that most other airlines would choose to abandon.