Budget Airline Pioneer and Upstate NY Native Passes Away

Ben Baldanza, a 1981 graduate of Rome Free Academy and former CEO of Spirit Airlines, passed away on November 5th, at the age of 62. Baldanza was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2022.

Before Baldanza was known for revolutionizing the airline industry with his focus on the ultra-low-cost business model, he grew up in Rome, where friends described him as "a really nice guy, quiet, and a musician who played the trombone in the band." After a career in the Navy, his father Basil worked as a civilian at Griffiss and his mother, normally worked at the commissary on the base, according to The New York Times.

According to his obituary, he earned his degree at Syracuse University, and "while getting his public affairs master’s degree at Princeton University, Baldanza interned at American Airlines Group, eventually joining the company’s finance department. Through the mid-1990s and early 2000s, he worked for Continental Airlines, Northwest, US Airways, and other firms before landing at Spirit in 2005 as company president and COO, rising to CEO the following year. Baldanza did not invent the “bare fares” model used by Spirit. Rather, he borrowed the idea from Irish ultra-low-cost carrier Ryanair, despite its lack of popularity in the United States."

Under his leadership at Spirit, the airline adopted a no-frills, à la carte model, allowing passengers to pay only for what they needed, from seat selection to baggage. Though often controversial for its minimalistic approach, this model made air travel affordable for millions, positioning Spirit as a disruptor in the industry.

Baldanza's influence extended beyond Spirit, as his methods sparked a wave of ultra-low-cost carriers worldwide. By the time he left Spirit in 2016, Baldanza had firmly established the airline's niche, proving the viability of the ultra-low-cost model in a competitive market. Today, he’s a well-regarded industry consultant and commentator, known for his candor and expertise, while his legacy with Spirit remains a benchmark for cost-efficient travel in the aviation sector.

Several years ago, Baldanza was home to run the Boilermaker road race in Utica. Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente remembers talking with the aviation executive about bringing Spirit Airlines to the Oneida County Airport. The conversation never materialized into a deal, and eventually the County's plans for the airport moved away from the concept of bringing in a commercial carrier.  Picente said he only met him that one time, but distinctly remembers the fact that he ran the 15K road race barefoot. His passing at such an early age is "terribly sad," Picente said.

In 2023, as a contributor to Forbes, Baldanza made the interesting comparison of being a newspaper delivery boy as a kid in Rome, to running an airline. He said delivering the Utica (Daily Press) newspaper was difficult because his route was geographically larger, but there were very few subscribers compared to the popular Rome Sentinel. He was ultimately only making about $18 a week, and he had to drive by so many "non-subscriber" homes on his bicycle that his margins were low. So, on his own, he decided to run a marketing promotion to increase subscriptions within his route.

"Taking a block-by-block approach, my goal was to offer a free week of deliveries to each house I passed by each morning. With the paper, I included a note that introduced myself (including a picture), outlined my customer service pillars, and invited them to subscribe and get this service ongoing," said Baldanza. "This was hugely successful, as a large number of homes who got the week free ultimately became regular subscribers. Within two years, I was delivering to over 150 houses. This was a tripling of the business I first joined," he said.

Baldanza said that management at the Utica paper asked him how he was able to increase subscriptions so well and he explained that he was buying the additional newspapers to offer sample free subscriptions to people along his route. Soon after, the newspaper then agreed to give him 5 free papers a week so he would keep the campaign going. By the time that he finished working for the Daily Press and he went off to college at Syracuse, he had over 300 subscribers, all within the same geographical paper route he started with in the very beginning.

"Running an airline is a lot more than delivering newspapers. But business is a mindset as much as anything, and what I learned during these six years helped me run a large company. The biggest and most important thing I didn’t learn then was how to hire, train, and lead people. But being more confident in things like managing cost of goods, customer service, reliability, time management, marginal cost and margin accretion, and efficient network design gave me time to learn the leadership skills," he wrote.

"We all are the result of the experiences we’ve had, and in my case a job that seemed like a good idea at age 12 ended up becoming a significant operation that was very fortunate for me," he said.

Baldanza served on the board of JetBlue, Wow Air, Odyssey Airlines, Go First and Six Flags. He was also an adjunct professor of economics at George Mason University. He co-hosted a weekly podcast called Airlines Confidential with long-time The Wall Street Journal journalist Scott McCartney. Baldanza retired from the podcast on August 11, 2024, citing health issues, according to Wikipedia.

Baldanza was also a collector of board games, at one point he had more than 1,700 of them. He ultimately donated all but about 100 to charity. The remainder were left for his family.

His podcast partner Chris Sloan wrote this on X about Baldanza after his passing:

"Ben was the airline disruptor who pioneered the ULCC model in the U.S. as CEO of Spirit. But his brilliant mind, mischievous humor, and pay-it-forward spirit set him apart. All that was intact the last time I saw Ben back in March. He was just focusing his remaining energy on seeing his talented son graduate high school, following in Ben’s musical footsteps while cutting his own path. He will be attending from the heavens. Ben’s wife, Marcia a brilliant educator in her own right and Ben’s sister are truly special people who were there 24/7. ALS robbed the world of Ben, but Ben accomplished more in life in his young years than most would do in many lives. He remained impish and optimistic - and again brilliant."

ALS is a tragic and always fatal neurological disorder. While his limbs, lungs, and voice failed him, his enduring sense of humility, curiosity, humor, and optimism prevailed during the nearly three years since his diagnosis. Ben will be missed by many.

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