It seems that American travelers are spoiled brats that don’t understand the concept of true no-frills flights.
That is according to veteran airline investor Bill Franke. Franke made the somewhat inflammatory comments at a Dubai airshow where he spent $50 billion on a fleet of 430 planes. His company, Indigo Partners, owns shares in four low-cost airlines: Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Hungary-based Wizz Air, Mexico’s Volaris, and Chile’s Jetsmart. He has been Chairman of Wizz Air since 2004, and also serves as Chairman of Frontier Airlines.
After the announcement of the sale Franke told reporters, “The consumer is essentially like your teenage spoiled brat. They had been flying with all the amenities for ever and ever and that’s what they think they ought to get,” Franke said.
“They don’t want to pay any more for the ticket, they just want all the amenities,” he added.
Franke went on to explain that in Europe, around 40 percent of fliers opt for low cost carriers while the figure in the US is closer to six percent.
According to a statistics website, the actual number of fliers in the US opting for low cost carriers is 30 percent and includes airlines such as Delta, Southwest and American Airlines. Spirit and Frontier Airlines are classified by the site as ultra-low cost carriers.
The purchase of the planes indicates that there is room to grow in the budget travel field as more Americans get used to flying with fewer amenities in exchange for a lower price.
Indigo Partners is known for making a profit in a difficult sector. Franke is 80-years old and continues to find new niches to grow. He says that his budget airlines fulfill a void in travel where people would like to get on a plane but are priced out by the high cost of air travel. He remains unconcerned about competition from a surplus of airplanes because his planes go where other airlines may not.