To quote Richard Aboulafia, "This is so stupid it hurts." We hate to be so matter of fact about the way in which we condemn and come out against certain things, but some things just smell bad. Losing money or selling your service for less than its cost is a an example of things that smell bad, even to air charter people. Air charter people frequently fall under the illusion that selling it "for less" is a smart way to get marketshare.

Listen to me now and hear me later... you don't want that marketshare!

This story reminds us a bit of JetsGo and how famous discounts usually lead to famous flops. We don't mean to condemn Spirit, but maybe some fine tuning of that $9 would do everyone a favor in the industry. What is so wrong with $49 or $39? Anything to keep the airline in business is a win for everyone.

There is an old aviation (and other industry saying) of What does not kill you makes you stronger. We'd like to add our own version. Some behavior is so stupid that it kills you. $9 fares may be one of those things.