Spirit Airlines adopts a cautious view of an improving revenue environment in the US

US ULCC Spirit Airlines appears to be taking a tempered view of the country's revenue environment for the remainder of 2017, concluding its unit revenue growth for 2Q2017 would be the high water mark for the year as comparisons for 2H2017 grow tougher.

Spirit has been facing more aggressive pricing from its larger competitors for roughly two years, and is working to transition from managing to load factor to improving yields through better revenue management, and making changes to how it manages its capacity in peak and off peak times.

It seems as if Spirit's assessment of the revenue environment has less to do with the introduction of basic economy fares by larger US network airlines, and is driven more by adopting a different mindset in revenue management to maximise yields while continuing to stimulate traffic among the price sensitive passenger sector.