Apparently, the CEO of Spirit Airlines doesn't understand how the "Reply to All" button works. I've received e-mails directly from Spirit Airlines folks not wanting to have their name mentioned on my blog suggesting to me that Spirit's current problems originate at the top. With all their layoffs (outsourcing, I'm told) it's tough to say. But this really does seem to back it up.

A curious comment from Christy came in earlier on the Spirit Airlines post tipping us off. Basically, she and her husband sent in a complaint, and Ben Baldanza hit "reply to all" with his jerky response. Christy was kind enough to forward me the full e-mail she received, including headers showing the e-mail originating from legitimate Spirit Airlines servers.

Taken by itself, I'd shrug my shoulders. Just another arrogant CEO. In context to the now 80+ comment thread taking place on this blog, it would seem that Spirit Airlines doesn't even understand the basics of modern customer service. Judging by the e-mail sent to Christy, they don't care to learn.

Christy found the e-mail addresses for the Spirit Airlines executive team because a user identifying themselves as "John Smith" posted them here. Just in case, you know, you'd like to join in. (no need to flame, just share with them your experiences.)

Stuck on the Palmetto was right. Spirit Airlines does in fact suck, and neither myself, nor SotP, are alone in feeling that way. Who knew.

Here's the e-mail, which was sent not just to Ben Baldanza's colleagues, but also to Christy. I'm following the text with the complete e-mail/headers (including what he was responding to) for anyone doubting the legitimacy.

UPDATE (8/22): I went through and removed everyone's last names except for Mr. Baldanza's. Originally, I left them thinking it might help someone legitimize this e-mail. These folks are just trying to do their jobs, and this isn't meant to be a personal attack in any way. It's not even about Christy and her husband's specific complaint, it's about the way that it was handled in context to the now 100+ thread of customer service issues.

UPDATE #2: Consumerist picks up on the story. (in addition to Gadling, SotP, Jaunted, Elliot.org, Upgrade: Travel Better and others) I posted a follow up on all my various thoughts here.

UPDATE #3: BEFORE COMMENTING, PLEASE DEAR GOD FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH OUR CONVERSATION. This is not the "start" of the discussion. This was taken out of the comment section of a larger post. Orlando Sentinel is the only media outlet that I've actually spoken to, and their story is probably the best starting point outside of the original post.
Please respond, Pasquale, but we owe him nothing as far as I'm concerned. Let him tell the world how bad we are. He's never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny.

---