I thought it was a noble gesture...
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (August 7, 2002 12:01 a.m. EDT) - Spirit Airlines announced Tuesday that all its flights on Sept. 11 will be free, saying the offer is a response to travelers' reluctance to fly on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Calling it "a day of freedom to travel," Spirit CEO Jacob Schorr said, "The sky should be full of Americans on that day. This will show that we're not a nation that can easily be brought down."
He said he hopes other airlines will follow suit.
American and United, the nation's two biggest carriers, have said they are cutting back their Sept. 11 flight schedules based on weak bookings. No. 3 Delta is trimming flights for the entire work week of Sept. 9-13. Several European airlines also have canceled flights to the United States on Sept. 11.
Spirit has 90 scheduled flights with more than 13,000 seats on Sept. 11 - a typical number for a weekday, Schorr said. Bookings for that day were already down for the Fort Lauderdale-based airline, but customers who already paid for tickets will get credit for a future flight.
Travelers can take as many flights as they want on Sept. 11, but tickets must be reserved by Sept. 8. If the second leg of a round-trip flight is on another day, there will be no one-way penalty - the cost will be half of the round-trip fare.
Schorr estimated the giveaway will cost Spirit around $500,000.
"This will give people who otherwise couldn't afford it a reason to fly," Schorr said.
Spirit Airlines serves Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Tampa, West Palm Beach, Orlando, Atlantic City, N.J., Oakland, Calif., Myrtle Beach, S.C., New York, Chicago, Detroit, Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Juan, Puerto Rico.