Former Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza dies at 62 

Ben Baldanza, former Spirit Airlines CEO and a well-known personality in the US airline industry, passed away on November 5, 2024, at the age of 62. 

Baldanza, who was at the helm of Spirit Airlines between 2005 and 2016, led the transformation of Spirit Airlines into an ultra-low-cost carrier. Although it became the target of public criticism at the time, elements of this business model, which aggressively markets ancillary services on top of a cheap basic fare, have since been embraced by other carriers. 

In 2018, after stepping down from the top job at Spirit Airlines, Baldanza joined the board of another US airline, JetBlue. It was during his tenure as board member that JetBlue made an unsuccessful attempt to acquire Spirit Airlines for $3.6 billion in 2022. 

In addition to his corporate activity, Baldanza was active in the public scene, publishing industry comments on his LinkedIn profile as well as co-hosting a popular podcast called ‘Airlines Confidential’. He also won numerous industry accolades throughout his lengthy career in the industry, including the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, which he was expected to receive in December 2024. 

In 2022 Baldanza was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neuro-degenerative disease that was ultimately the cause of his death. Due to this condition, he gradually withdrew from the public scene. 

Even when his health was faltering, Baldanza tried to remain active for as long as possible, even using AI to remaster samples of his own voice to continue communicating publicly until the relatively late stages of his illness.  The post Former Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza dies at 62  appeared first on AeroTime.

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