Ted Christie: LCC Futures Depend on Understanding Meaning of Value, Power of Trust
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At APEX FTE EMEA in Dublin, former Spirit Airlines President and CEO Ted Christie delivered a wide-ranging keynote in discussion with APEX Group CEO Dr. Joe Leader. Christie laid out his own view of the evolution of the low-cost carrier (LCC) model and its future trajectory in the US airline market. Drawing from 13 years at Spirit Airlines, six of which he served as CEO, Christie used his keynote to dismantle the myth of the LCC model’s demise and to propose a more human, trust-based future for value-oriented carriers.
The LCC Model: Not Dead, Just Evolving
Christie pushed back forcefully against recent claims by the CEO of a US network airline that the LCC model is “dead.”
“There’s always going to be a call for low-fare travel,” he emphasized. “People are always going to enjoy low fares. That’s always going to be a core tenet of what airlines can deliver.”
Christie cited data to support his point that shows US legacy airlines now sell more low-cost, Basic Economy-type seats than the entire LCC sector combined. The issue, he argued, lies not in market demand, but in who can successfully deliver on that promise of value.
From Cost to Connection: Building Trust
Christie acknowledged that in Spirit’s early growth years, its relentless pursuit of efficiency occasionally disconnected it from the customer experience.
“Our mission was always to provide low fares,” he said. “But we realized that we came across as too transactional. We didn’t nurture the trust relationship.”
In response, Spirit pivoted to its “Invest in the Guest” initiative. The airline focused on three key principles: transparency, respect, and reliability. At the core of that pivot sat a simple premise Christie repeated, that value is not just based on cost. Instead, it’s a ratio of experience over price.
“The relationship between flight attendants and passengers is where you deliver unexpected value”
– Ted Christie, former Spirit Airlines CEO
“Value is an exchange between a provider and a consumer,” Christie noted. “It’s not the fare alone. It’s whether you got what you were promised, or more.”
The pivot worked. Spirit’s Net Promoter Score climbed. Passenger loyalty deepened. Christie credited the flight attendants and airport staff for delivering authentic, human service.
“Our people turned that around,” he stated proudly. “We gave them empowerment, and they gave passengers a reason to come back.”
Reinvention Post-COVID
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, airlines of all sizes were forced to reimagine themselves. For Spirit, it accelerated the pivot from transactional LCC to value-focused carrier with a product suite.
Christie pointed to the structural impacts of the pandemic on US aviation: massive pilot attrition, a decimated regional airline sector, and surging inflation. Mainline carriers moved quickly to replace regional aircraft with larger jets, flooding markets with more capacity and competitive fares.
Simultaneously, the power of loyalty and credit card partnerships emerged as a dominant revenue driver. That market dynamic, Christie explained, forced Spirit and other low-cost airlines to re-evaluate their value propositions beyond fare alone.
Bundles, Wi-Fi, and Comfort: The New LCC Arsenal
Spirit responded with Project Bravo, a complete overhaul of its product strategy. Gone were the days of a barebones ticket plus optional add-ons. In their place, fare families and bundles provided more intuitive, value-driven offerings.
From in-flight Wi-Fi and onboard streaming to bundled big front seats with complimentary drinks, Christie believed the additions didn’t just enhance the passenger experience – they redefined Spirit’s place in the market.
“Low-cost airlines must partner or scale to survive … That could be through mergers, alliances, or loyalty integration.”
– Ted Christie, former Spirit Airlines CEO
“We introduced a European-style business-class service, including blocked middle seats and wood dividers,” he highlighted. “Frankly, it exceeded what legacy carriers were offering on comparable routes.”
Christie emphasized that Spirit had long sold premium seating – the first iteration of its popular “Big Front Seat” product debuted in 2007 – but only recently shifted to treating those offerings as part of a holistic experience rather than a one-off transaction.
“Now it’s bundled with services and extras,” he explained. “That changed how customers felt. It wasn’t just a bigger seat, it was a different journey.”
The Battle for Scale and Loyalty
Christie identified scale as the next great battleground for LCCs. Consolidation among legacy carriers left four airlines controlling 80% of the U.S. market, with United and Delta forming an increasingly dominant duopoly.
“Low-cost airlines must partner or scale to survive,” he asserted. “That could be through mergers, alliances, or loyalty integration.”
He referenced the now-defunct Spirit-Frontier and Spirit-JetBlue merger attempts as examples of the structural difficulty in consolidating the LCC market. Still, Christie remained optimistic about forming alternative partnerships, particularly around loyalty.
Already, loyalty-sharing programs like the one between JetBlue and United signal the opening for more cooperation, even across competitive lines. Christie viewed this as an urgent step for low-cost airlines to match the immense revenue advantages of legacy carrier loyalty ecosystems.
Human Connection – the Simplest Way to Provide Value
Asked by Dr. Leader how value-focused airlines like British Airways could enhance their economy experience without ballooning costs, Christie drew parallels to both retail and restaurants.
“It’s not about spending more. It’s about perceived value,” he said. “Even wealthy customers shop at Walmart. They just want to feel they got more than what they paid for.”
He described how Spirit empowered its frontline crew to make connections count, citing Net Promoter Score gains as proof. For him, value often emerged in the simplest acts. “The relationship between flight attendants and passengers is where you deliver unexpected value,” Christie reflected. “And that interaction is nearly free.”
Dr. Leader emphasized this further, citing industry data showing that airlines could increase onboard sales by more than 20% simply by personalizing service, including using passenger names, making eye contact, and offering products with genuine hospitality.
Christie concurred, explaining that Spirit trained crew to treat guests like humans, not just travelers. He argued that shift changed the airline’s public perception, perhaps more than any advertising campaign could have.
Premium Demand, Reinterpreted
Christie also challenged the industry’s narrative around surging “premium” demand post-COVID. He argued that demand had always existed — but leisure passengers were often displaced by business travelers in premium cabins.
“Business travel dropped off during COVID and hasn’t fully come back,” Christie said. “Now leisure travelers are filling those premium seats. They always wanted them. They just didn’t have access.”
“Even wealthy customers shop at Walmart. They just want to feel they got more than what they paid for.”
– Ted Christie, former Spirit Airlines CEO
This, he asserted, opens massive opportunities for LCCs to capture high-yield leisure demand with a lower-cost model. With competitive offerings like Spirit’s Go Comfy product, low-cost carriers can now offer business-class comfort at half the price of legacy competitors.
Dr. Leader underscored this with a recent anecdote: “I paid $300 for a Spirit business class seat, which was less than the economy fare on a network carrier flying the same route.”
Christie noted the strategic power of low-cost efficiency, claiming, “We can deliver a premium seat at a lower cost than their Basic Economy.”
Where Value Meets Belonging
Ultimately, Christie returned again and again to the emotional component of air travel: trust, dignity, and connection. He quoted Ben Folds to illustrate his philosophy, who said, “If you can’t trust, you can’t be trusted.”
And while he acknowledged the structural challenges still facing LCCs, such as rising costs, market saturation and competitive loyalty programs, he placed his bets on the resilience of value-driven brands that understand their customers deeply.
The final theme of the morning touched on hospitality itself. Christie cited the book Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara, and its idea of breaking down every guest interaction to find ways to improve it, even small gestures.
“That red-and-white mint at the end of your meal,” he said, “it’s nothing in cost, but everything in meaning. People want to feel like they’re part of something. Deliver the value, make them feel seen, and you win their trust.”
This captures Christie’s vision for the future of low-cost travel: not cheap flights, but meaningful journeys that start with value and end with loyalty.
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