It grew out of a Michigan-based trucking company called Clipper that was founded in 1964. In 1980, the company formed an airline called Charter One, changing its name to Spirit Airlines in 1992. Up until 2006, it essentially competed with legacy carriers like Delta and United. However, that was a costly endeavor so the airline decided to change its business model.
“We had to look at other profitable airline models and at the time there were two,” explains Paul Berry....