Spirit Airlines Appoints Ben Baldanza President and Chief Operating Officer

Business Wire, Jan 12, 2005

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Spirit Airlines is pleased to announce the appointment of B. Ben Baldanza as President and Chief Operating Officer of the company. He will join Spirit on January 24, 2005.

Baldanza will be directly responsible for the bulk of Spirit's business, including operations, maintenance, sales and marketing.

"During these very challenging times, we are delighted to welcome someone as qualified and talented as Ben Baldanza," said Jacob Schorr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, to whom Mr. Baldanza will report. "With vast domestic and international experience, he brings an outstanding balance of operational, financial, and marketing expertise. He is well qualified for our domestic and international expansion where we have opened three new routes in less than four months. I am confident that Ben is the ideal person for this position in these incredibly interesting and challenging times, and look forward to welcoming him to our family of employees on January 24th."

"I am excited to join Spirit at such an exciting time in the company's development. While the airline industry is in a massive state of change, Spirit has the cost structure and the fundamentals to ensure stability and growth," said Baldanza.

Baldanza most recently served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Planning at US Airways. In this position, he was responsible for route planning, scheduling, pricing and revenue management, as well as marketing, sales, cargo, distribution, and US Airways' international division. Prior to US Airways, Baldanza served as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Grupo Taca, an airline based in El Salvador currently serving 34 cities in 19 countries. Baldanza previously held positions at Continental Airlines, where he was Executive Vice President Marketing, Northwest Airlines, and American Airlines.

Baldanza holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Syracuse University and a Master of Public Affairs, specializing in transportation and economics, from Princeton University.

About Spirit Airlines

Founded in 1990, Fort Lauderdale-based Spirit Airlines is the largest privately-held airline in the U.S., bringing low fares and friendly service to 18 cities, including: Atlantic City, N.J.; Cancun, Mexico; Chicago/O'Hare; Detroit; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Nassau, Bahamas; New York/LaGuardia; Providence/Boston Area; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Washington, D.C./Reagan National; and the Florida cities of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa, with seasonal service to West Palm Beach.

In addition to comfortable Coach class service, Spirit offers Spirit Plus, a low-cost business class with 2-by-2 leather seating, complimentary cocktails and snacks. For more information, fares, schedules and reservations visit www.spiritair.com or call 1-800-772-7117 (en Espanol, 1-800-756-7117).