Big Front Seat is dead; Long live Go Big!

Big Front Seat is dead; Long live Go Big! Spirit Airlines  is changing its approach to the market, in a manner that appears to be removing most of what makes it unique. Most notably, the Big Front Seat is no longer a seat-only offering. Passengers buying up to the new Go Big bundle will see a product far closer to a traditional first class offering on board.

We listened to our Guests and are excited to deliver what they want: choices for an elevated experience that are affordable and provide unparalleled value. – Ted Christie, Spirit’s President and CEO

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The new plan offers four product bundles for passengers to purchase:

• Go Big takes Big Front Seat and adds bags, snacks, drinks, priority boarding and priority check-in. It will also include free Wi-Fi on board. This product is now nearly identical to the first class offerings of Delta, American, and United, at least in markets where meals are not served by the legacy carriers. As a result, however, there will no longer be a BFS-only option
• Go Comfy creates a new offering on board, with a blocked middle seat in the cabin. It will also include a carry-on and checked bag, as well as a snack and non-alcoholic drink.
• Go Savvy allows passengers to select a seat at booking, as well as a checked or carry-on bag for their trip.
• Go is the same as Spirit’s basic fare offering today, where everything else is an add-on ancillary purchase.

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Historically, Spirit took advantage of its unbundled offerings to tease additional revenue out of travelers over time. A follow-up email here and there would sell the extra bag or assigned seat a traveler might not have selected at booking. With the new program, however, many of those options are far more limited. Among other things, a spokesperson confirms that the new program will not have a process available at launch to buy up; rather, Spirit is “exploring options for Guests to upgrade their travel option after booking.”

There is also a certain amount of irony that the Spirit/JetBlue merger was killed, in large part because a judge felt it was necessary to have Spirit remain independent so it could continue to deliver product and fare innovations in the market. With these changes it is moving decidedly away from that unique streak, delivering a product that looks an awful lot like what the legacy US carriers deliver already.

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As part of the changes the carrier will also introduce a priority check-in service at more than 20 airports across its network, including key business and higher-yielding leisure markets. Access will be provided to Go Big passengers, as well as Free Spirit Gold elite members and holders of the Free Spirit Travel More co-brand credit card (the one with the annual fee, not the freebie).

Similarly, priority boarding will be added as part of a restructuring of that experience. The new boarding will have five groups, with priority for Go Big, GO Comfy, Gold and Silver elites, and the premium credit card.

The new fare options become available for booking on 16 August. The updated airport and on-board experiences for Go Big and Go Comfy will take flight on 27 August.