Squeezing out every last seat
Spirit and Ryanair are also much more cramped than their full-priced rivals. Spirit’s Airbus A320 has 178 seats squeezed in, compared to 150 on JetBlue’s A320. Ryanair’s squeezes even more passengers in its A320neo, with 180 seats.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has made several attempts to squeeze out every last available seat on his aircraft, often with comical results. O’Leary intends to remove two of the three toilets on all of his aircraft in an attempt to cram in more seats. At one point, he suggested that the single remaining toilet would be a pay toilet, at one euro or pound per use, but that plan was scrapped after a public outcry.
However, that didn’t stop O’Leary from attempting to introduce vertical standing seats on his aircraft, campaigning against seat belts, and calling his customers “stupid” for not printing out their boarding passes in advance.
The latest episode in O’Leary’s headline-grabbing antics was a conflict with The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA). O’Leary was reportedly upset with Boeing for not complying with his requests for fewer toilets and more seats. The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)’s 737 currently has 189 seats. O’Leary demanded that The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) remove a couple of toilets and stick in six extra seats for his ideal seating capacity of 195, which Boeing rejected due to “regulatory issues, licensing issues, emergency evacuation issues, (and other) technical issues” that O’Leary admitted that he didn’t “really understand.”
Despite these controversial tactics, Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY) currently carries the most international passengers in the world, at 79.6 million, surpassing second-place Lufthansa at 50.8 million. O’Leary claims that number could rise to 100 million by 2019, when its fleet is forecast to reach 400 aircraft.
You get what you pay for
Although Spirit Airlines Incorporated (NASDAQ:SAVE) and Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY) are loathed by some travelers, travelers continue to fly with these discount airlines for a cheap, no-frills experience. As a result, they have evolved into better long-term investments than traditional airlines.
In the world of airlines, it might be prudent to follow a simple rule – invest in the airlines you would never fly with, and fly with the airlines that you would never invest in. This might save you a lot of grief in the skies and in your portfolio later on.
The article Is It Time to Invest in Discount Airlines? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Leo Sun.
Leo Sun has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of SPIRIT AIRLINES INC. Leo is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
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