All photos by Matt Durr | Mlive.com
A Spirit Airline plane inside of a hanger at Detroit Metro Airport on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019.
ROMULUS, MI – Raise your hand if you’ve ever been on a flight and no matter how hard you try to ignore it or distract yourself from it, you can’t help but notice that you are sitting in the most uncomfortable seat you’ve ever been in. Aside from a delay, nothing can ruin a flying experience quite like sitting in the middle seat on a chair that feels like it’s been in use since the 1970s.
The team at Spirit Airlines believes it has an answer for that problem with the unveiling of its new seating that has already begun showing up in their fleet of planes. By better using the space on the planes and consulting with ergonomics experts, Spirit says it has created seating that addresses one of the biggest concerns for customers when choosing their airline.
Employees of Spirit Airlines pose from the cockpit of the brand new Airbus that's been fitted with new seats, decor and other updates.
“On the research end, we’re always listening. We send a survey out at the end of our guest experience to almost every guest and we’re always looking for new ways to improve,” said Benjamin Lewis, the senior director of commercial and operational analytics for Spirit. “One of the things that bubbled right to the top was seat comfort. We understand as a business (customers) value price, they value quality and comfort and this was something that was on the list to be addressed.”
Spirit achieved that goal without losing the number of seats on each plane by utilizing the space in better ways. For instance, the curvature of the seats sits differently than traditional airplane seats by sliding back a couple inches and conforming with the natural curve in our backs. The company also widened the middle seat by an inch.
While the seats don’t recline, the set back style of the seat creates more leg room for guests. Spirit also redesigned the backs of the seats by removing unneeded portions of it to create room for your knees. Lewis – who is 6 feet 4 inches tall -- demonstrated the leg room by sitting in one of the newer seats and stretching his legs under the seat in front of him comfortably.
Benjamin Lewis -- who is 6 feet 4 inches tall -- demonstrates on the right how much room he has while Field Sutton (left) demonstrates the knee room in each seat.
Spirit has improved tray tables for guests as well and updated the interior of the planes to better reflect the branding changes across the board for the company.
“It’s part of our brand evolution. We continue to try to add value to everything we do. So we’ve rebranded and the new branding shows up, but more importantly in terms of adding value, we’ve made the seats more comfortable, we’ve brought the interiors in brand,” said Lania Rittenhouse, vice president of in-flight experience for Spirit. “I think people are going to be surprised.”
While some airlines are hoping to improve guest experience by offering things like free wi-fi, in-flight entertainment – via TVs in the headrests – more food and beverage options and other offerings, Spirit wanted to focus on making the actual comfort of the flight better.
“We have to keep a very lean cost structure to stay as successful as we are…we have opted not to do certain things because it just didn’t add value or our guests just didn’t want to pay for it or want it,” Rittenhouse said.
The tray tables on the older Spirit planes will be replaced with new ones as well.
The newer tray tables better meet the needs of passengers according to Spirit.
Because of its reputation as a “budget” airline, the team at Spirit said it doesn’t want to offer products or services to customers that would force the company to pass that expense on to the guest. One of the reasons why the company can introduce the new seats is because of savings earned through the introduction of the new fuel-efficient engines outfitted on the planes, according to Rittenhouse.
“They’re tremendously more fuel efficient. We monitor the fuel burns very closely of course,” said Captain Andrew Swenson. “(Pilots) notice the fuel flows on these are much lower than the plane sitting next to it. They’re the same plane, but different engines.”
Not only are the engines fuel-efficient, they are much quieter and make flying a bit more peaceful for guests.
“Once you’re at altitude, it’s easier to sleep because they’re so quiet,” said Captain Alan Pola.
Captain Andrew Swenson discusses the improvements made on the engine that make it more fuel efficient and quieter.
The first plane outfitted with the new seats and d\u00e9cor flew over the weekend on a handful of flights and others are expected to be seen by customers in the coming weeks. The company currently boasts a fleet of 144 planes and will surpass 300 total by 2025.
Planes currently in service will be remodeled when they receive routine maintenance in the coming years.
A row of older seats inside of a Spirit plane. These seats will be replaced in each of the 144 planes in the company's fleet.
Rows of seats in the newly remodeled Spirit Airlines planes. The front two rows feature the company's "Big Seat" option, while the third row is standard with each ticket purchased.
The cabin of the newly remodeled Spirit Airlines plane. The entire fleet of planes will be updated with the newer seats and decor in the coming years.
Employees pose after the unveiling of the new seats and cabin updates.
———
©2019 MLive.com, Walker, Mich.
Visit MLive.com, Walker, Mich. at www.mlive.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
