Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines is hurting after a mixed quarter, and the outlook isn't good for the rest of 2017. The company's leadership, however, remains undeterred from its current strategy.

The union said it will comply with the order. But does that mean Spirit flights will immediately start running on-time again? Probably not.

It has not been a good week for Spirit's operation. But airlines often prevail in cases like these, so on-time performance could improve soon.

Focusing on reliability and customer satisfaction is the right move for Spirit, provided it can do it without increasing costs significantly. The airline's brand is not in strong shape, and it needs to be rehabilitated.

This is a curious move. In May, JetBlue will start flying smaller airplanes to Cuba, as demand is not as strong as expected. But now the airline wants to add more daily flights. Perhaps this is more of a long-term play.

It's hard to consistently make money in the airline industry. But Indigo Partners, led by former America West Airlines CEO Bill Franke, has an excellent track record. Once again, he is poised to make a big profit after buying an airline cheaply and taking it public.

Spirit Airlines had to reduce its guidance for 2017 following storm-related cancellations in early 2017. This represents a blip on the radar for Spirit, but questions remain about how Spirit will cope as legacy carriers introduce lower fares to compete.

Under new CEO Bob Fornaro, Spirit Airlines is deviating slightly from the typical ultra low cost carrier playbook. Most passengers probably won't notice it, as Spirit will still pack in the seats and charge for everything. But around the edges, Spirit's strategy is evolving slightly.

American, United, and Delta are all introducing no-frills fares to try to thwart Frontier, Allegiant, and Spirit. It might work, or it might not. But it's worth a shot. The Big 3 do not want any of the discount airlines to grow to be as large and powerful as Ryanair.

When fuel was expensive, Spirit was one of the industry's top performers. But cheaper oil has not been helpful to the carrier, so now it must get smarter.