精神航空与廉价航班的未来

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That means NPR needs your support now more than ever.

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I'm Britney Luce from It's Been a Minute.

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赶紧去 donate.npr.org 捐款吧。

Head over to donate.npr.org.

这是NPR的《Planet Money》。

This is Planet Money from NPR.

大约一个月前，RN Darling 为参加纽约市的一个工作活动，在精神航空订了机票。

About a month ago, RN Darling booked a ticket with Spirit Airlines for a work event in New York City.

如果你一直关注关于精神航空的新闻，就知道RN当时对这个决定其实挺没底的。

And if you've been following the news about Spirit, you know that RN was not feeling great about that decision.

我每两个小时就查一次航班状态，连续查了整整七十二小时。

I just started checking the flight status every two hours, and I did that for, like, seventy two hours straight.

因为Spirit在第二次申请破产后，财务状况变得更糟了。

Because after filing for bankruptcy for a second time, Spirit is having even more financial issues.

现在看来它马上就要清算，可能就此彻底消失。

Now it looked like it was about to go into liquidation and could maybe disappear forever.

我还直接打电话给他们，说：嘿。

And I would even call them and be like, hey.

我想确认一下，因为我有点担心，负责更新航班信息的人，会不会也已经被裁了。

Is there something because I got a little worried that whoever was, like, in charge of updating the flight status, maybe they were even, like, you know, let go.

到了登机那天，机场工作人员都拿他这个航班当笑话讲。

When the day of his flight finally came, his departure was sort of a running joke with the staff at the airport.

他们说：哦，你坐Spirit啊？

They were like, oh, you're flying with Spirit?

我看着他们，回了一句：嗯，我大概是最后一个了。

And I was like kinda looked at them and I'm like, I mean, I guess I'm one of the last.

亚伦最终还是飞到了目的地，但精神航空的未来就难说了。

Aaron did make it to his destination, but Spirit's fate is a little more up in the air.

欢迎收听《金钱星球》。

Hello and welcome to Planet Money.

我是艾玛·皮斯利。

I'm Emma Peaslee.

精神航空曾经是超低价航空公司的老大。

Spirit used to be the king of ultra low cost carriers.

他们以票价低著称，但其他一切都要额外收费。

They're notorious for low fares and charging for basically everything else.

虽然不怎么讨人喜欢，但那阵子他们确实是增长最快的航空公司。

And while maybe they weren't the most beloved airlines, for a time, they were the fastest growing.

现在的问题是，精神航空能撑过这一周吗？

Now the question is, can Spirit make it through a week?

今天这期节目，我们来聊聊精神航空到底发生了什么。

Today on the show, what happened to Spirit?

首先，看看它的崛起。

First, the rise.

我们回到2014年，那时候这家廉价航空正风头正劲。

We'll go back to 2014 when the budget airline was flying high.

我们会采访当时的CEO本·巴尔丹扎，聊聊他那套颠覆性的低价航空理念，顺便也体验一把他们家的飞行服务——说实话，真挺难受的。

We'll talk with then CEO Ben Baldanza about his radical vision for cheap air travel, and we'll take an uncomfortable trip of our own.

然后是转折，老牌航司怎么用同样的招数反杀Spirit，让一堆廉价航空直接栽了跟头。

Then the no side, how legacy airlines beat Spirit at their own game and sent many budget airlines into a tailspin.

就在上周，联邦政府还说，可能要出手救一把这家廉价航空。

Just last week, the federal government said it may step in to bail out the budget airline.

我觉得咱们直接买下来吧。

I think we just buy it.

这几乎是零债务入手。

We'd be getting it virtually debt free.

他们机队不错，资产也硬气，等油价一跌，转手就能赚一笔。

They have some good aircraft, some good assets, and when the price of oil goes down, we'll sell it for a profit.

我真希望能保住这些工作。

I'd love to be able to save those jobs.

2014年的时候，佐伊·蔡斯和雅各布·戈德斯坦发现，精神航空既是美国增长最快的航空公司，也是最受讨厌的之一。

Back in 2014, Zoe Chace and Jacob Goldstein noticed Spirit was the fastest growing airline in America and also one of the most hated.

于是他们决定买张机票试试。

So they decided to book a ticket.

早上好，佐伊。

Good morning, Zoe.

早上好，雅各布。

Good morning, Jacob.

我们现在在纽约的拉瓜迪亚机场。

We're at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

天还特别早。

It's very early in the morning.

是啊。

Yes.

确实如此。

It is.

我们要坐精神航空从这里飞往佛罗里达州的劳德代尔堡。

And we are gonna fly on Spirit Airlines to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

从这儿飞到劳德代尔堡，我们只花了68美元。

And it costs us $68 to fly from here to Fort Lauderdale.

68块99。

$68.99.

但是——

But

但是——

But.

但是——

But.

从哪儿说起呢？

Where to begin?

这‘但是’也太多了吧。

There are so many buts.

不管去哪儿，都是各种收费。

Everywhere you turn, there are fees.

选座位还要三十刀？

$30 to pick our seats?

在飞机上买瓶水都要三块。

If you want water on the plane, it costs $3.

还有这行李费。

And then you got the bag for this.

不过每人可以带一件随身物品。

But you all have one personal item.

不能带两件。

You can't have two.

那我如果只带一个斜挎包和一个背包……

So if I have just the messenger bag and the backpack

最后的惊喜是50美元。

The surprise is gonna be $50.

没错，就是50块。

And It's $50.

托运还得再加50。

To carry on it.

那我要是托运呢？

What if I check it?

托运只要45。

It's 45.

精神航空就像天上飞的地铁。

Spirit Airlines is a subway car in the sky.

头顶行李舱上全是广告。

There are ads on the overhead bins.

我从来没见过这种事儿。

I've never seen that before.

而且飞机上的座位也更多了，所以彼此挨得更近。

And there are also more seats on the plane, which means they're closer together.

膝盖活动的空间更少了。

There's less leg room.

你的膝盖还好吗？

How are your knees?

我的腿确实能碰到前面的座椅。

I mean, they definitely reach the seat in front of me.

你这身材简直就是为这情况量身定做的。

I feel like you are perfectly sized for this situation.

如果前面那位乘客把座椅放倒的话——

If the guy in front of

我可就彻底完蛋了。

me were to put his seat back, I'd be screwed.

不过好消息是，在精神航空，座椅是不能放倒的。

The good news is on Spirit Airlines, you cannot put your seat back.

坐在我们对面的克里斯·帕特里齐奥探过身来，小声跟我说：这太糟了。

Chris Patrizio across the aisle from us leans over and whispers into my ear, this sucks.

别提了。

Tell me.

我还得问他们上厕所要不要收费。

I had to ask them if they charge to go to the bathroom.

连咖啡都要钱。

They charge for coffee.

这是我们第一次坐精神航空，也绝对是最后一次。

This is the first time we've used Spirit, and it's gonna be the last time we use Spirit.

很多人都对精神航空有这种感觉。

And lots of people feel this way about Spirit Airlines.

啥都是收费的。

Nothing was free.

连水都不给免费。

No water.

啥都没有。

Nothing.

就给点花生。

Peanuts.

我从来没坐过哪家航空公司，哪怕飞一小时，连个饼干、一片 crackers 和一杯冰水都不给。

I've never flown an airline even when you were up in the air for one hour where you didn't get a cookie, a cracker, and a cup of ice water.

简直一团糟。

It's a mess.

啥都要钱，机场里也乱得跟菜市场一样。

They charge for everything, and it's a total zoo in the terminal.

人人都急着跑来跑去，还谁都不搭理人。

And everybody's scrambling, and no one's nice.

但我们的飞机上基本坐满了人。

But our plane is basically full of people.

全美各地，精神航空还在不断加飞机。

And across the country, Spirit is adding planes.

他们还在开通新航线。

They're adding new routes.

事实上，精神航空是美国增长最快的航空公司。

In fact, Spirit is the fastest growing airline in America.

精神航空可是家十亿美元级别的公司，但你要是去看它总部，根本看不出来。

Spirit Airlines is a billion dollar company, but you wouldn't actually know that when you look at its headquarters.

就是个普普通通的办公园区。

It's this generic office park.

对吧？

Right?

你从人行道推门进去，就一个小破屋子。

You open the door from the sidewalk, and there's just a dingy little room.

连个前台都没有。

There's no receptionist.

屋里就一把椅子、一张小桌子，再加一部电话。

The only thing there is a chair, a little table, and a phone.

你拿起电话，打给你要找的人。

You pick up the phone, and you call whoever you're there to see.

我们当时是去见本·巴尔丹扎，Spirit航空的CEO。

And we were there to see Ben Baldanza, the CEO of Spirit Airlines.

很多CEO的采访都特别无聊。

And a lot of CEOs are boring interviews.

他们满嘴专业术语。

They use a lot of jargon.

说话也干巴巴的，一点没劲。

They talk in a very bland way.

但本·巴尔丹扎完全不是这种人。

Ben Baldanza is not like that.

要是咱们是零售店，可能有些高端航空公司会把自己比作诺德斯特龙，而你要是去问JetBlue的人，他们大概会说咱们像塔吉特，甚至想做得比塔吉特还好。

Well, if we were a retailer, we would, you know, some maybe some high service airlines in the world would think of themselves as a Nordstrom's or something, and maybe, I bet if you were gonna talk to the guys at JetBlue, they'd say maybe we're Target or maybe even try to become a little better than Target.

我们呢？我们就是 Dollar General。

We're Dollar General.

这话说得在理。

That's fair.

我们连沃尔玛都算不上。

We're not even Walmart.

明白吧？

Alright?

我们就是Dollar General，而且我们挺得意的，毕竟帮顾客省了不少钱。

We're Dollar General, and we like being Dollar General because we save people lots of money.

你能在Baldanza的办公室里看到Dollar General的影子。

You can see the Dollar General thing in Baldanza's office.

他的办公室在底层，很普通。

It's a ordinary office on the Ground Floor.

他穿着短袖衬衫，窗户很大，为了省钱，灯都关着。

He's wearing a short sleeve shirt, and there's some big windows, so he leaves the lights off to save money.

我帮你把灯关了。

I'll turn the lights off for you.

你瞧。

Look.

那三盏灯里只亮一盏。

One bulb in those three goes on.

我开办公室灯的时候，就只有这一盏会亮。

That's the only thing that turns on when I turn the lights on in this office.

三盏灯里就亮一盏。

One bulb in those three.

我没道理花这冤枉钱。

There's no reason for me to waste that money.

把你们公司比作便利店，作为一家航空公司的CEO，这么说可真有点特别。

And to compare your company to the dollar store, that's kind of an unusual comparison for a CEO to make, especially in the airline industry.

航空公司一向喜欢把自己包装成最舒服、最宽敞、座位最宽敞的那种，比如联合航空的这则广告。

Airlines have always tried to sell themselves to us as the nicest, the most comfortable, the most legroom, like this ad from United, for instance.

经济Plus座位空间更大。

More room in economy plus.

更舒适。

More comfort.

更多你真正需要的。

More of what you need.

本·巴尔达纳za 职业生涯大半时间都在做这种推销。

Ben Baldanza spent most of his career making that pitch.

我在这行干了二十多年，就是大家眼里那种传统航空公司。

I spent over twenty years in what people think of as the traditional airline business.

我待过美国航空、西北航空、大陆航空、US航空，还有家中美洲的小航司。

I worked for American, Northwest, Continental Airlines, US Airways, an airline down in Central America.

那些航空公司都一个样，它们存在的目的就是想让你多掏钱。

And all those airlines were the same in the sense that their their purpose in life was to try to attract a higher fare customer.

我每天晚上睡觉前都在想：怎么才能让你多花点钱买机票？

I would go to bed at night thinking, how can I get you to pay more for your ticket?

不过，丹特的观念在他2005年加入精神航空后很快就变了。

Well, Dante's outlook changed not long after he got hired by Spirit back in 2005.

以前，精神航空只是众多平庸廉价航空公司中的一个，没啥特别的。

Spirit used to be just one more mediocre bargain airline in a crowd of mediocre bargain airlines.

精神航空确实靠价格竞争，但同时也想搞那些别的东西，结果根本行不通。

Spirit was competing on price, yeah, but they were also trying to do the other stuff, and it it wasn't really working.

所以到了2006年，本·巴尔达纳和精神航空做了一个决定。

So in 2006, Ben Baldanza and Spirit Airlines made a decision.

他们打算在美国复制像瑞安航空和亚洲航空在其他地方的做法。

They were gonna try to do in America what airlines like Ryanair and Air Asia were doing in other parts of the world.

他们要打造一家纯粹靠价格取胜的航空公司。

They were gonna build an airline that just competed on price.

不是靠什么服务、体验、机上设施，或者别的花里胡哨的东西来抢客户。

Rather than an airline that was gonna compete for our customers on any other basis, any sort of physical product or experience or, you know, zag it score or anything like that.

对吧？

Right?

就一个字：便宜。

It's it's gonna be cheap.

一旦做了这个决定，其他选择就变得简单多了。

So once you made that decision, other decisions become a lot easier.

为了把票价压得更低，我们对托运行李、大件随身行李、人工值机、机上饮食和指定座位都单独收费。

So to keep our fares lower, we charge separately for check bags and for large carry on bags and to print your boarding pass with a human being and to eat or drink on board and to pick your specific seat assignment.

我们的飞机每天飞行的时间更长。

We fly our planes more hours per day.

每架飞机我们都塞了更多座位。

We put more seats in every airplane.

想做到低价，往飞机上多放座位这事儿根本不用纠结。

Mean, it's it's very easy to decide to put more seats on the airplane when you wanna have a low price.

在大多数航空公司买票，你其实是在为这些买单：

When you buy a ticket on most airlines, here's what you're paying for.

一趟从A到B的飞行，外加一瓶水、一罐可乐，还有如果你需要的话，头顶行李架的空间。

A ride to wherever you're going and a few other things, a bottle of water, a Coke, space in the overhead bin if you want it.

不管你用不用，这些服务你都得付钱。

And you're paying for those things whether you use them or not.

在精神航空买票，你付的只是坐飞机的钱。

When you buy a ticket on Spirit, all you're paying for is the ride.

这也就是精神航空这么便宜的原因之一。

That's part of the reason that Spirit is so cheap.

有家航空公司，我相信你都知道是哪家，花大价钱宣传他们的行李免费，但他们的平均票价比我们高五六十美元。

There's an airline out there, and I'm sure you know their name, that that spends a lot of money telling you that their bags are free, but their average tickets are 50 to $60 higher than ours.

运行李可不便宜。

It's expensive to carry bags.

你得雇人搬行李。

You hire people to load the bags.

还得在机场买传送带、租场地来处理这些事。

You you pay for bag belts in the airports and the rental space to do that.

时不时还丢行李、弄坏行李，得买保险来兜底。

Every once in a while, you lose a bag or you break a bag, and so you have to have insurance to cover that.

运行李根本不是免费的，你要么让用的人付钱，要么让所有人都买单。

It is not free to carry bags, so you either charge the people who use it or you charge everybody whether they use it or don't.

我们认为，用多少就收多少，不用就不收，这才公平。

And we think it's fairer to charge customers for what they use and not charge them for what they don't use.

所以，空乘推着小车挨个卖水、可乐和咖啡，这可不叫Spirit Airlines把我当贵宾对待。

So, basically, the flight attendant coming down the aisle with the cart with water and soda and coffee, that is not like Spirit Airlines serving me as a valued customer.

那纯粹就是个移动的7-Eleven，推着车在过道里晃悠。

That's just like a little seven eleven rolling down the aisle.

说得太对了。

That's exactly right.

Spirit真正把你当贵宾，是让你花69美元飞纽约，而别家都要收150美元；是让你花99美元去尼加拉瓜，别家却要收250美元。

Spirit serving you as a valued customer is letting you fly to New York for $69 when everybody else is charging $1.50, or letting you get to Nicaragua for $99 when everybody else is charging $2.50.

这才叫把顾客当回事。

That spirit serving you as a valued customer.

另外，我们允许7-Eleven那样的小卖部在飞机上提供服务。

In addition, we'll let the seven eleven be available to you while you're in the airplane.

你想买什么，那就随便。

And if you wanna buy, great.

如果不买，那也没关系。

And if you don't, that's okay too.

我觉得Spirit是我第一次在飞机上看到广告的航空公司。

I think Spirit is the first place where I have seen ads inside the airplane.

我看到头顶行李架上有赌场广告，餐板上也有广告，直接怼到你眼前。

I saw an ad on the overhead bin for a casino and an ad on some of the tray tables, like, right in your face

还有座位旁的广告位。

for booths.

没错。

Yeah.

我们的空乘围裙上也有广告。

And we have ads on our flight attendant, aprons too.

这难道不棒吗？

And ain't that great?

因为商家付钱让我们放广告，你的机票价格就能更低。

Because people pay us to put that ad there, and your fare could be lower.

瓦尔丹扎对精神航空的这种说法挺有道理的。

Valdanza's case for Spirit Airlines makes sense.

用多少付多少。

Pay for what you use.

不用的就别花钱，精神航空确实便宜。

Don't pay for what you don't use, and Spirit is really cheap.

但很多人就是觉得航空公司该是那个样子。

But lots of people just expect an airline to be a certain way.

结果一上精神航空的飞机，发现跟坐大巴没什么两样，立马就不爽了。

And when they get on Spirit and find out they're basically on a flying bus, they don't like it.

事实上，去年《消费者报告》做的调查里，精神航空垫了底。

In fact, Spirit Airlines came in dead last on a survey Consumer Reports published last year.

我先念一段吧。

Let me just start by reading.

你肯定看过这段，但我还是想读一遍。

You've I'm sure you've read this, but I'm gonna read from it.

这是《消费者报告》去年做的一个大型调查，涉及成千上万的乘客。

So this is a Consumer Reports, a big survey from last year, thousands of flyers.

《消费者报告》说，垫底的精神航空，是我们评过的所有公司里综合得分最低的之一。

Consumer Reports says, bottom ranked Spirit Airlines received one of the lowest overall scores for any company we've ever rated.

你刚才讲得那么好，这怎么跟这个结果对得上？

How does that square with the great story you just told me?

他们就是精英主义，我来告诉你为什么。

They're elitist, and I will tell you why.

这个调查根本没问乘客机票花了多少钱。

That survey never asked customers about the price of their ticket.

既然不问价格，那这调查就是胡扯。

And since they don't ask about the price, it's absolute bunk.

你要跟我说，哪家航空公司座位更宽敞、服务更多、机舱灯光更舒服，就比我们强，可你偏偏不提他们收400块，我们才收99块——那《消费者报告》怎么不干脆出个调查，说奔驰S级比福特福克斯强？

If you want to tell me that an airline that has more legroom and serves you more on board and has nicer lighting on the airplane is a better airline than ours, but forget to say they charge $400 and we charge $99, Why doesn't Consumer Reports put out a a survey saying that a Mercedes s class is better than a Ford Focus?

这话说得对。

It's true.

那他们为啥不公布这个调查？

Why don't they put up that survey?

奔驰S级确实比福特福克斯好。

The Mercedes s class is better than a Ford Focus.

那为啥没人全去买奔驰S级呢？

So why doesn't everybody buy Mercedes s classes?

我这儿还有Consumer Reports的一条信息。

I got one more line on Consumer Reports.

好，说吧。

Okay.

另外，这个调查里有个叫‘读者评分’的东西。

Also, the survey has a thing that's just called the reader score.

这个评分可不是让你勾选选项的。

This score is not check these boxes.

就是问你对这家航空公司感觉咋样。

It's just how do you feel about this airline?

你觉得舒服还是不舒服？

Do you feel good or do you feel bad?

Spirit在这点上也是最差的。

And Spirit is the worst on that one too.

说白了就是这么回事。

Here's here's the reality.

你要是进 dollar store，还指望买件像样的三件套西装，那肯定得失望。

If you go into the Dollar Store and you're expecting to buy a nice three piece suit, you're gonna be really disappointed.

你别上 Spirit 飞机还抱怨没腿空间。

No one should come to Spirit and complain we don't have legroom.

我们又不是卖腿空间的。

We're not a store that sells legroom.

我们早就说好了，机上喝水要收费，大件行李也要收费，别搞错啊。

We don't want anybody to be surprised that we charge for water on board or that we charge for large carry ons and things like that.

我们不想让人觉得被坑了，可还是有人想不通。

We don't wanna be anyone to be surprised at, but some people still are.

当人们不明白这个现实时，这其实是咱们公司的问题。

And that and that's a and that's a failure of our company when they don't understand that reality.

我们这次旅行中，接触了很多根本不懂这个现实的人。

On our trip, we talked to a lot of people who did not understand that reality.

他们又惊讶又生气，说再也不坐精神航空了。

They seemed surprised and angry, and they said they were never gonna fly Spirit again.

另外，我们也遇到一些完全认同精神航空模式的人。

And also, we talked to some people who were totally on board with Spirit's program.

对。

Yes.

座位不能后仰，托运行李还得额外付费，确实挺烦的，但价格便宜啊。

It sucks that the seats don't recline and you have to pay to use the overhead bin, but it's cheap.

我提前做好了准备，觉得这个取舍值了。

And I planned ahead, and I'm happy with this trade off.

很明显，精神航空的乘客就分这两种。

So clearly, there are those two kinds of Spirit customers.

但我一直在想，会不会有第三种人呢？

But I wondered, is there a third kind?

会不会有人明明知道Spirit的套路，还是选它，心里却特别不爽？

So is it possible that there are people who know what they're getting into, who fly Spirit but who sorta hate it?

就是，我想省钱，可又讨厌被各种小收费坑，比如三块钱买瓶水，这种纠结的Spirit乘客。

Like, I wanna get the deal, but, like, I know I hate getting, you know, nickel and dime, $3 from water, like, the conflicted Spirit Flyer.

有没有人其实特别讨厌坐Spirit？

Are there people who are, like, hate flying Spirit?

我觉得肯定有这种人，我还真遇见过。

I think there are people who absolutely are like that, and I've met some.

其实前不久我参加一个会议，主持人环顾了一下在座的人。

In fact, I was at a meeting, a little while ago, and the person leading the meeting looked around the table.

当时公司来了大概十个人。

There were about 10 people from the company there.

我就问了一句：你们有谁坐过Spirit吗？

I said, has any have any of you flown Spirit?

有个男的说：有啊。

And one guy said, yes.

我经常坐他们家的飞机。

I fly them all the time.

她问：那你对它们啥感觉？

And she said, what do you think of them?

他说：我讨厌他们。

He said, I hate them.

她又问：那你为啥还坐呢？

And she said, well, why do you fly them?

他说：因为太便宜了。

He said, well, they're so cheap.

我们还没谢谢您今晚选择我们的航班呢。

We didn't thank you for flying with us this evening.

在我们返程的航班上，空乘芭芭拉·丁加斯说，她经常看到这种讨厌坐精神航空却还坐的人。

Back on our flight home, Barbara Dingus, our flight attendant, says she sees the hate flyers all the time.

他们说再也不坐精神航空了。

They say they'll never fly Spirit again.

但

But

我敢打赌，他们还会回来的。

I guarantee you they'll be back.

为啥我们的航班总是坐满？

Why are our flights all full?

因为这些人回头就来坐了。

Because those people come back.

他们生气是因为得自己掏钱，还得拿信用卡，还以为啥都能免费呢。

They're getting mad because they have to, you know, get their credit card out or whatever and think they're gonna get everything for free.

信我吧。

Trust me.

我太清楚了，人嘛，嘴上抱怨，下飞机该坐还是坐。

I I I know enough to know that people complain, they get off.

我记得他们的脸，他们还是会回来的。

I I remember faces, they come back on.

经济学家喜欢区分‘声明偏好’和‘实际偏好’。

Economists make this distinction between stated preferences and revealed preferences.

声明偏好是人们嘴上说想要的，而实际偏好是他们真去买东西时做出的选择。

Stated preferences are what people say they want, and then revealed preferences are what people actually choose when they go out and buy something.

精神航空正好同时踩中了这两点。

And Spirit hits both of those things.

你问人们在选航空公司时最看重什么，他们都会说：票价最低。

When you ask people on a poll or whatever, what's most important to them when they pick an airline, They say above all else, a low fare.

这叫声明偏好。

That's a stated preference.

但越来越多的人实际上跑去买精神航空的机票了。

And then more and more people are actually going out and buying tickets on Spirit Airlines.

这才叫实际偏好。

That's the revealed preference.

可偏偏有那么多人就是讨厌它。

And yet and yet so many people just hate it.

人的欲望真是挺奇怪的。

Human desire is is weird.

有时候，我们想要的，根本不是自己以为想要的。

Sometimes we don't want what we think we want.

或者我们明明想要，事后却又为自己这么想感到羞愧。

Or we do want it, and then we kind of hate ourselves for wanting it.

我们选了最便宜的，心里却又觉得有点对不起自己。

We pick the cheap option, and then we feel kinda dirty about it.

嘴上说再也不干了，可心里清楚得很，下次八成还是照旧。

We say we'll never do it again, even though we know deep down we probably will.

本·巴尔达纳于2024年去世。

Ben Baldanza died in 2024.

他被广泛认为是在任期间引领精神航空彻底改变了整个行业，迫使其他航司纷纷降价。

He is widely credited as leading Spirit during a period where the airline changed the whole industry, pressuring carriers to lower fares.

那Spirit和其他廉价航空到底是哪里出了问题？

So how did it all go so wrong for Spirit and other budget airlines?

这事儿可不只是油价涨那么简单。

The story is so much more than high fuel prices.

广告之后，看看老牌航司如何反攻，还有政府救助的最新说法。

After the break, the revenge of legacy carriers and the new talk of a government bailout.

明白。

Okay.

欢迎我们的驻站撰稿人格雷格·罗萨尔斯基。

Welcome, Greg Rosalsky, our resident newsletter writer.

艾玛，总是很愉快。

Emma, always a pleasure.

你最近跟航空业的专家聊过，应该有答案了吧？

So you've been talking to airline industry experts, and you have some answers for us.

有。

I do.

艾玛，希望你的小桌板已经收起并锁好，安全带也系好了，咱们马上要起飞了。

Emma, I hope your tray table is stowed in an upright and locked position and that your seat belt is fastened because we're about to go on a journey.

该出发了。

It's time for liftoff.

飞机已经起飞了。

Plane's taken off.

明白了。

Okay.

咱们先来看看过去一周左右，精神航空的走势，我挑几个新闻标题给你念念。

So let's start with reviewing the trajectory of Spirit Airlines through a few headlines that we've seen in the past week or so.

我给你念几条。

So I'm gonna read a couple for you.

精神航空看起来好像挺稳的，但油价上涨正威胁着它摆脱破产的希望。

Spirit Airlines looked like it was in the clear, but rising fuel costs are threatening its bankruptcy exit.

这标题可真不咋地。

Not the best headline.

我想说点实在的。

I wanna be honest.

精神航空为避免破产清算，提出让政府注资。

Spirit floats government stake to avoid possible liquidation.

精神航空即将获得特朗普政府五亿美元的救助资金。

Spirit Airlines close to 500,000,000 bailout from Trump administration.

哎，这下我来精神了。

Oh, I'm perked up.

我点开这个看看。

I'm clicking on that one.

如果特朗普政府接手这家破产航司，它可能被用来运送士兵和军用物资。

Spirit Airlines could be used to transport troops, military cargo if Trump admin takes over bankrupt carrier.

这个我真没注意到。

Didn't see that one.

还有这篇《华尔街日报》的评论，标题叫‘令人泄气的航空业救助’。

And then this clever Wall Street Journal editorial, a dispiriting airline bailout.

标题里有个好双关语，真带感。

Love a good pun in the in the headline.

对。

Yeah.

要是还想听更多双关语，去看看格雷格的通讯吧。

If you want more puns, check out Greg's newsletter.

是啊。

Yeah.

这整个事儿也太离谱了吧。

So this is all pretty incredible.

对吧？

Right?

我的意思是，联邦政府现在居然在考虑要不要亲自下场搞航空业，甚至可能入股当股东。

I mean, the federal government is now basically flirting with the idea of getting into the airline business and maybe taking, like, an ownership stake in it.

说起来，特朗普政府去年就对美国钢铁干过类似的事。

I mean, the Trump administration did do something similar with US Steel last year.

而且，他们以后也许能把股份卖了，赚上一笔，这样就全说得通了。

And, yeah, they could maybe sell the stake later and maybe make a profit, and this will all work.

但说到底，这可不是美国资本主义的常规操作。

But still, like, this is not the typical way that, like, US capitalism works.

目前来看，救助计划大概就是这么个情况。

And as of now, the bailout idea kinda stands like this.

精神航空已经表示，他们想要政府救助。

Spirit has said it wants a bailout.

上周，特朗普总统说，如果价格合适，他可能愿意考虑。

Last week, president Trump suggested he might be open to it at the right price.

最近，交通部长表示，他认为国会必须介入才行。

More recently, the transportation secretary suggested he thinks that congress would have to get involved.

明白了。

Okay.

所以，救助这事还得再看看。

So bailout TBD.

对。

Yeah.

那咱们聊聊Spirit是怎么从增长最快一路走到快破产的吧。

So let's talk about how Spirit went from the fastest growing to near liquidation.

你在通讯里把这事儿分析得特别清楚，还指出不只是Spirit在挣扎。

You broke all this down in your newsletter, and you make the point that it's not just Spirit that's struggling.

好多廉价航空都一样。

It's a lot of budget airlines.

没错。

That's right.

这简直就是老牌航司的复仇。

You could call it the revenge of the legacy carriers.

是啊。

Yeah.

咱们就重点说说老牌航司是怎么实现这次反击的，有三个关键因素。

So we're gonna focus on these three factors for how big legacy carriers got their revenge.

首先，他们照搬Spirit的模式，把客户重新拉回来。

So first, they copy Spirit to steal the customers back.

接着，他们把会员福利搞得更诱人，留住这些客户。

Then they sweeten their loyalty programs to keep the customers.

第三，经济形势帮了他们大忙。

And then third, the economy sort of does the rest of the work for them.

预算型旅客被挤出了市场。

Budget travelers get pushed out of the market.

咱们先说第一个因素——这种模仿策略。

So let's start with factor one, this copycat strategy.

行。

Okay.

老牌航空公司一看，Spirit这些廉价航司简直是在抢他们的饭碗。

So the legacy airlines, they look at Spirit and other budget airlines, and clearly, they're eating their lunch.

人家票卖得便宜，效果还真不错。

The they're charging lower ticket prices up front, and that seems to be working.

所以达美、美国航空和联合航空也开始把那些不愿额外付费的乘客能享受的舒适服务全砍了。

So Delta and American and United, they also start throwing creature comforts out the window for passengers not willing to pay for them.

这样一来，他们就能把机票的初始价格压得更低，跟廉价航空抢预算型旅客。

And this way, they could also charge a lower upfront ticket price and compete for budget travelers.

没错。

Yeah.

他们后来还更进一步，推出了一个叫‘基础经济舱’的项目，我经常买这个。

They kinda take this to the next level, right, when they release this program called basic economy, which I book a lot.

我就是那种选基础经济舱的人。

I'm I'm a basic economy kinda guy.

明白吧？

Okay?

我喜欢吗？

Do I love it?

不喜欢。

No.

我走过头等舱的时候，会不会偷偷瞄上一眼？

Do I when I walk by the the first class section, do I give a little side eye?

你订票的时候，有没有后悔过别的选择？

Do you wish you'd made other decisions when you booked?

说实话，没有。

In truth, no.

我真正的选择就是票价便宜。

My revealed preference, it's definitely cheaper fares.

世界上像我这样的人可不少。

And there are a lot of people out there like me.

明白了。

Okay.

票价低、腿没空间、磨炼心性、额外收费。

So cheaper fares, less leg room, character building, more fees.

现在，灵性航空的乘客也能在老牌航司享受到同样的优惠了。

And now these Spirit customers can basically get the same deals on legacy airlines.