If you mention the name Spirit Airlines to most people, you probably get a blank stare in return. That’s because Spirit isn’t exactly the biggest airline around, and they’re privately held so Wall Street doesn’t pay much attention either.
That being said, Spirit still needs to drum up business, right? Well, they’ve been extremely creative at generating PR in the last year, and today is no exception.
Today the airline announced the Dead Presidents Sale. The subtitle on the press release? “Holla for Fares Starting at a Dolla!”
As a Florida-based airline, they’ve previously embraced their hurricane-susceptibility by having named sales (including Larry, Moe, and Curly but sadly, they’ve neglected Shemp like everyone else). They’ve also targeted high gas prices with “Stand Up to the Man Week” this summer.
Every time they pulled one of these stunts, I’d just shake my head wondering what they were thinking. But you know what? It gets them great press and a good amount of traffic.
This latest sale offers fares as low as $1 each way. Now, don’t get too excited that you’ll be able to find a $2 roundtrip flight somewhere. These fares are only good on four specific dates for each route. Ft Lauderdale to Atlantic City, for example, is valid on Oct 1, Nov 3, Dec 1, and Jan 23. So unless you can travel both ways on those days, you’ll have to combine the cheap fare one way with the regular fare on the return. And of course, these fares don’t include taxes either, so the out-the-door price will be much higher.
With all that being said, I still think it’s a great idea. They’ve done pretty controversial things like having a sale where people searched for Jimmy Hoffa. That sparked a lot of outrage, but I guess they do say that any press is good press. Spirit may seem ridiculous, but it’s a great way for the airline to get their name out there.
