Spirit and Virgin America show drasticially different outcomes from capacity growth

US carriers Spirit Airlines and Virgin America recorded higher than average capacity growth during 2011. But the similarities ended there as Spirit recorded healthy profits that continued into the first quarter of this year while Virgin American continued to mount losses as fuel expense and the spool-up of new markets continued to the crimp the carrier's bottom line.

While Virgin America concludes it is still in growth mode, it has only recorded one profitable quarter in its five-year history, and only four quarters of operating profits. Unlike Spirit, Virgin America largely operates to legacy strongholds, attempting to lure passengers away from network carriers with its highly-regarded in-flight experience. Although the carrier continues to rack up numerous awards for its service, the business case has yet to be proven.