Spirit Airlines' network legacy market expansion continues as financial performance remains solid

Executives at Spirit Airlines believe the airline's favourable financial performance during 4Q2012 and full year 2012 demonstrates the soundness of the carrier's business model built on offering a comparatively lower base fare and garnering a large portion of ancillary revenue from various add-on products. At the moment the carrier holds a solid outlook for 2013, reflected by its planned supply expansion of roughly 22%. The carrier continues to move into legacy and low-cost stronghold markets in the continental US as part of its larger strategy to diversify from the lower-yielding south Florida market. Beginning in Feb-2013 and continuing over the year Spirit is introducing additional flights from Baltimore, Detroit, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis and Philadelphia.

A USD25 million hit to its revenue, resulting from operational disruptions from "superstorm" Sandy that struck the US east coast in Oct-2012, triggered an 18% drop in Spirit's 4Q2012 profits year-over-year to USD20 million. Spirit has a large presence in Atlantic City, New Jersey, which chief marketing officer Barry Biffle stated was the epicentre of the storm. Spirit is the only carrier serving the airport, and presently (18-Feb-2013 to 24-Feb-2013) operates flights to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, Orlando and Tampa, Florida and to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.