Ben Baldanza

Last updated
B. Ben Baldanza
Born
Basil Ben Baldanza

(1961-12-03) December 3, 1961 (age 62)
Rome, New York
Education Syracuse University, B.A., 1984
Princeton University, MPA, 1986

Basil Ben Baldanza (born December 3, 1961) is an economist and was the chief executive officer and president of Spirit Airlines from 2005 to 2016, a period in which he led the transformation of the company into an ultra-low-cost carrier.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Baldanza was born on December 3, 1961, in Rome, New York. In his youth, he played the trombone and briefly imagined a professional musical career. [1] He later attended Syracuse University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in policy studies and economics in 1984. He earned his Master of Public Affairs degree at Princeton University in 1986. [1] [2]

Career

In 1986, Baldanza began his career in the airline industry working for the American Airlines Group [3] until 1991, where he was a member of chief executive officer Robert Crandall's, "Brat Pack", [4] alongside Thomas W. Horton (former CEO of American), C. David Cush (former CEO of Virgin America) and Doug Parker (former CEO of American Airlines).

He was later employed by Northwest Airlines and after that briefly worked at the United Parcel Service. In 1994, [1] he was hired by Continental Airlines as VP of Pricing, and soon was promoted to EVP of Marketing. [5] By 1997, [1] he left Continental to serve as the managing director [6] and COO of TACA Airlines. While at Taca, he also served on the board of directors of Frontier Airlines. In the early 2000s, he served as senior vice president of Marketing and International Operations for US Airways [7] during a troubling period when the company filed bankruptcy twice in as many years. [8]

Baldanza left US Airways to become president and COO of Spirit Airlines in January 2005. [9] [7] He became chief executive officer of Spirit in 2006. At the time, the company was recording yearly losses of $79 million. [10] During his tenure, Baldanza was “the public face of Spirit’s transformation into a more extreme version of a discount airline.” He designed a plan to transform it into an ultra-low-cost carrier. The company implemented a “Bare Fare” model, [3] opting to charge airline fees for many services included in traditional airline fares. [11] [12] This included fees for the option to select a desired seat, [13] food and drink, carry-on and checked baggages. [14] On July 14, 2010, Baldanza testified in a U.S. Congress hearing in which he defended the airline's unpopular “policy to unbundle services not essential to passenger transport.” [13] He has faced significant criticism stemming from transformation of the airline into an ultra-low-cost carrier. Baldanza has been largely unapologetic about his company's new pricing policy. [2] [15] He was even featured in a 2010 video in which he placed himself inside an overhead bin to defend the airlines new policy on carry-on fees by saying “Had we not implemented this, there’s no telling what people would try to put in an overhead bin”. [16] [17]

The most reported criticism of Baldanza stemmed from his handling of customer complaints, especially his initial refusal to refund the fare of a terminally-ill military veteran in May 2012. [18] The Vietnam veteran was diagnosed with cancer and was recently informed that it was terminal and that he was unfit to travel by plane. He requested a refund and was refused. Baldanza initially defended his team's decision by stating that the customer purchased a nonrefundable fare with no insurance and therefore the company does not owe him a refund as that would be unfair to other customers. [19] He faced criticism from veterans organizations including a social media campaign to boycott Spirit Airlines. Baldanza eventually apologized for failing to “demonstrate the respect or the compassion that [he] should have, given [the customer’s] medical condition and his service to [his] country.” He announced he would return the price of the fare from his own funds [20] and that Spirit Airlines would make a donation to a veteran's group. [18] [21]

During his tenure, the airline became profitable in “a period in which many airlines struggled to stay in business.” [2] As of 2011, “Spirit earned 40% more per airplane than any other U.S. airline”. [18] Baldanza and other executives at Spirit were paid less than others in the industry and but instead owned shares in the company. [22] Baldanza often promoted terms such as “a bus with wings” and “dollar store of the sky” to describe the airline. He pushed for ways of offsetting costs by selling advertising spaces where ever available on the plane, including flight attendant aprons, seatback trays, overhead bins, napkins, cups and motion sickness bags. [23] His company used advertising that often went viral instead of relying on a large marketing budget. Their advertisements often contained sexual innuendo as well as topical subjects in pop culture and politics. [23] [24]

In January 2016, Baldanza resigned from his position as chief executive officer and president of Spirit, after serving in the position for nearly a decade. [10] The resignation was described by several news organizations as unexpected and abrupt. However, Baldanza stated that the move was part of “an orderly succession plan.” [3] [25] Spirit said that Baldanza had recently moved his family to Washington, D.C. He was replaced by Robert Fornaro, a member of the board that Baldanza personally recruited in 2014. [3]

Baldanza currently serves on the board of JetBlue Airways [26] and Six Flags Entertainment. [27] He is also an adjunct professor of economics at George Mason University. [28] He co-hosts a weekly podcast called Airlines Confidential with long-time Wall Street Journal journalist Scott McCartney. [29]

On November 15, 2021, Baldanza was elected as the non-executive chairman of the board of Six Flags. [30]

In May 2023, Baldanza was awarded the Joseph S. Murphy award for service to the airline industry. This is an award that Air Transport World Magazine gives rarely. [31]

Charitable and philanthropic

Baldanza and his wife support various Educational Institutions and Arts programs through the "Baldanzas Doing Good" fund.

He serves on Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship Advisory Board. [32]

He also serves on the Princeton University Graduate Dean's Alumni Advisory Council.

Baldanza acts as Treasurer for the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras [33] and serves on the Audit Committee for the International Trombone Association. [34]

Personal life

Baldanza is married to Marcia Baldanza and they have a son. [7]

He is first cousin to violinist Roberta Guaspari. Guaspari's father and Baldanza's mother were siblings.

He at one point owned a collection of thousands of board games which he enjoys playing. [35] In June 2023, he donated most of his games to local DC-area and Pennsylvania gaming groups, keeping about 100 for his family. He is a voting member of the International Gamers Awards. [36]

In 2022, Baldanza was diagnosed with ALS caused by a mutation in the C9orf72 gene. [37]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Associated Press (2011-07-12). "Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza bio". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  2. 1 2 3 Mayerowitz, Scott (July 12, 2011). "Meet America's king of airline fees". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Carey, Susan (January 5, 2016). "Spirit Airlines Names Industry Veteran Fornaro as New CEO". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  4. ↑ "American Brat Pack: Where Airline CEOs Came Of Age - CBS Texas". www.cbsnews.com. 2011-12-29. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  5. ↑ Boisseau, Charles (April 16, 1995). "Continental Admits Flub, Turns Off Lite Struggling Airline Decides To Halt Ill-Conceived No-Frills Operation". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  6. ↑ Rohter, Larry (1998-04-15). "International Business; A Home-Grown Giant Of Central America". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  7. 1 2 3 Stoller, Gary (2009-06-21). "Spirit Airlines is cheap, and CEO Ben Baldanza's proud of it". ABC News. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  8. ↑ Alexander, Keith (September 15, 2004). "US Airways". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  9. ↑ Compart, Andrew (May 9, 2005). "In the Hot Seat: Ben Baldanza: Travel Weekly". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  10. 1 2 Satchell, Arlene (January 13, 2016). "Former Spirit CEO Baldanza could get $1M in severance plus airline tickets for life". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  11. ↑ Satchell, Arlene (January 5, 2016). "Ben Baldanza out as CEO at Spirit Airlines". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  12. ↑ Weber, Harry R. (April 19, 2010). "5 U.S. airlines say no to carry-on fees". SFGate. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  13. 1 2 Mayerowitz, Scott (July 14, 2010). "Airline CEO: Bags 'Not Essential'". ABC News. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  14. ↑ Khan, Huma (May 7, 2010). "Paying for Using Plane Bathrooms? Spirit Air CEO Says No But Doesn't Discount New Fees". ABC News. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  15. ↑ Saporito, Bill (December 11, 2013). "The Budget Deal Is Going to Jack Up Your Airfare". Time. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  16. ↑ Sharkey, Joe (2010-08-23). "Carry-Ons and Courtesy Need to Co-Exist". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  17. ↑ Tuttle, Brad (May 3, 2012). "See That Flight Price? Add $103 to It". Time. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  18. 1 2 3 Nicas, Jack (2012-05-12). "A Stingy Spirit Lifts Airline's Profit". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  19. ↑ Miller, Joshua Rhett (2012-05-03). "Spirit Airlines CEO: Dying vet has himself to blame for no refund". Fox News. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  20. ↑ Elliott, Christopher (2012-11-29). "The Insider: A Tale of Two Airlines". National Geographic Traveler. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  21. ↑ Miller, Joshua Rhett (2012-05-04). "Spirit bows to pressure: Airline CEO to refund dying veteran's fare". Fox News. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  22. ↑ Kristof, Kathy (July 2013). "Coping With a Moody Market". Kiplinger. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  23. 1 2 Tuttle, Brad (March 12, 2014). "At Long Last, Your Company Can Advertise on Airline Barf Bags". Time. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  24. ↑ Malone, Kenny (September 3, 2013). "Spirit Airlines Sees Business Take Off With Raunchy Ads". NPR. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  25. ↑ "Brash, fee-happy CEO of Spirit Airlines abruptly replaced". Chicago Tribune. January 5, 2016. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  26. ↑ "JetBlue Airways Corporation - Governance - Board of Directors". ir.jetblue.com. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  27. ↑ "Board of Directors". investors.sixflags.com. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  28. ↑ "Economics | Faculty and Staff: Ben Baldanza". Economics. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  29. ↑ "Your Hosts – Airlines Confidential Podcast" . Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  30. ↑ "Six Flags Announces New CEO". www.businesswire.com. 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  31. ↑ "2023 ATW Joseph S. Murphy Service to Industry: Ben Baldanza | Aviation Week Network". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  32. ↑ "Maxwell Advisory Board". Maxwell School. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  33. ↑ "Board of Directors". American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  34. ↑ "Committees". International Trombone Association. 2016-01-07. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  35. ↑ Mayerowitz, Scott (February 9, 2014). "Spirit Airlines chief is a ruthless strategist, even at play". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  36. ↑ "International Gamers Awards - Ben Baldanza". www.internationalgamersawards.net. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  37. ↑ "Former Spirit Airlines CEO, now battling ALS, gets 'new' AI voice based on his own pre-disease voice". ABC27. 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2024-04-15.


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