Nixed Spirit flights could tax airline's reputation, reliance out of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport

Aug. 7—Travelers' confidence in Spirit Airlines may wane after thousands of cancellations over the past week essentially stopped commercial air traffic in and out of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, according to industry experts.

The airline, the sole carrier at the Unity airport, canceled flights daily to and from Florida destinations such as Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, as well as Myrtle Beach, S.C., stranding some travelers and leaving others to deal with last-minute changes in plans.

"When you have the major meltdowns, it takes some time for an airline to rebuild the customer confidence," said Paul Hudson, president of FlyersRights, a nonprofit airline consumer group based in Sarasota, Fla.

Spirit's CEO Ted Christie on Thursday said the cancellations had been brewing for months after staffing shortages, technology problems and a surge in travel, according to CNBC. He said cancellations will continue as the low-cost Florida-based carrier regains its footing after "tens or hundreds of thousands" of customers were affected by the disruptions. It was too early for him to estimate the financial impact.

"We couldn't get in front of it," Christie said.

Meagan Bilik-DeFazio of North Huntingdon was one of those customers when her flight home from Orlando was canceled Monday after a family vacation. She recalled seeing long lines and upset, angry customers at the Spirit counter. Some had waited for days with their employment in danger back home only to have their second and third re-booking get canceled.

"I would've hoped to see an all-hands-on-deck sort of situation," she said. "Everybody was scrambling to get some sort of guidance, and we were being told to just go wait in that line."

Bilik-DeFazio said they started checking other airlines and rental cars. Enterprise allowed them a one-way rental to drive the 17 1/2 hours home. She said her family returned just in time Tuesday morning for her to make it to work as a judge at the Westmoreland County courthouse.

She knows they were lucky.

"We are just thankful to be home," she said. "I will always travel with a buffer day in between."

Six Spirit flights on Friday were canceled and two delayed at the airport outside Latrobe, according to tracking website FlightAware. That amounted to all of the commercial flights in and out of the facility.

On Saturday, two flights from Latrobe to Orlando were canceled and one to Myrtle Beach was canceled, while one flight each to Myrtle Beach and Ft. Lauderdale arrived ahead of schedule.

Spirit canceled seven flights and delayed four others Friday at Pittsburgh International Airport. Only two other flights at the airport were canceled.

On Saturday, Spirit canceled three flights and delayed three others at Pittsburgh International, out of a total of nine cancellations and 41 delays at the airport.

Spirit Airlines canceled 37% of its total flights nationwide on Friday, down from more than 70% earlier in the week, according to FlightAware. Another 9% were delayed.

While expressing disappointment with the situation and sympathy for affected passengers, Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, said this week he remained optimistic that Spirit would iron out its problems and restore regular service at Arnold Palmer Regional.

"I'm confident it will come back around," he said of Spirit's flight schedule, noting the airline was "scrambling some of the flights back into the system. It's encouraging."

"I'm sure, if it was an extended situation, we'd be much more concerned," he said.

Recent investments to the airport, including widening and strengthening the runway and expanding the passenger holding area, were meant to accommodate more frequent commercial flights. Those improvements set the stage for a potential second commercial carrier.

There have been no developments on that front, but Monzo said "the conversation is always open. I think there's always a chance. When airlines see an opportunity, they take advantage of it. They're very competitive."

Travelers have several options when faced with a canceled flight — get a refund, find another airline and request hotel and meal vouchers, among others, said Omar Kaywan co-founder of Goose Insurance, a smartphone app that offers travel and other insurance products. Such a situation can affect a traveler's confidence in an airline, especially after more than a year of restrictions on every day life meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Kaywan said.

"It does leave a bad taste in consumers' mouths," he said.

Disputing charges on a credit card can be a way to recoup money in the event refunds are not given. Consumer complaints can be lodged with the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Hudson said those complaints can be copied to FlyersRights.

Bilik-DeFazio said she didn't have any problem getting a refund for her family's canceled flight.

Flight cancellations and delays have been increasing over the past month and a half as carriers found themselves without adequate staff available for an increase in air travel. Hudson advised travelers to have an alternate plan, regardless of with whom they are flying.

"You can't expect that the flight is going to arrive on time or arrive at all," he said.

It was unclear how long Spirit's woes would continue to affect travel plans. Christie, the CEO, told reporters the airline plans to work hard to regain travelers' confidence. In the meantime, officials are working on addressing the current issues.

"We're beginning to turn the corner and get our legs under us where we can start to build back to where we were before," Christie said.