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IN BUSINESS AIRLINE CONTINUES EXPANDING FLEET SPIRIT, FROM PAGE 10 market was more the result of fare cuts from air- lines serving nearby Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix than a market battle with Al- legiant Air, which has four flights a week to and from Mesa. The airline has been adding capacity by acquir- ing new Airbus A320 twin-engine jets. Spirit has added seven jets since the third quarter of 2011 and the fleet now stands at 42 with two more deliv- eries expected in the fourth quarter. In addition, the company announced that it will lease three used A319 jets and five next-generation A320s, which will join the fleet in December and Janu- ary. "As we grow our network, we are pleased to continue to offer our customers the lowest fares in our markets," Ben Baldanza, Spirit's president and CEO, said in a release accompanying the company's earnings report. "Giving our customers the freedom to choose only the services and products they value allows them to save money and helps us keep our costs low, which, in turn, provides value to our share- holders," he said. "We remain on target to achieve while sustaining an annualized (cash flow) mar- gin of 24 to 26 percent for the full year 2012." Spirit uses a controversial business model of vastly discounted fares and high ancillary costs for bags and carryon luggage. Next month, Spirit will increase its carry-on bag fee from $30 to $35 online, $35 to $40 through its reservation center and $40 to $50 at an airport kiosk or ticket coun- ter. At the gate, the carry-on fee soars to $100. In the company's conference call, Baldanza said that while some say Spirit "is taking a pound- ing in the press" over the $100 fee, the company views it favorably because of the exposure the air- line has received. He said the high fee is an operational strategy — not a revenue strategy — to push customers to plan bag management in advance, which helps the airline board passengers on planes more ef- ficiently. The strategy seems to be working. The average ticket revenue per flight segment is down 12.1 percent to $71.85, while non-ticket revenue is up 11.5 percent to $49.80 for the quarter. Baldanza said Spirit doesn't know yet how much impact Hurricane Sandy will have on the com- pany's bottom line in the fourth quarter, but the storm roared through the heart of the airline's our goal of growing capacity 15 to 20 percent most popular routes. The company offered to re- book passengers without a change fee through mid-November. POKER STRATEGY FOR NATION STILL UNCLEAR ONLINE POKER, FROM PAGE 10 be in addition to the myVegas social media site it's using in partnership with myVegas developer Playstudios. Both MGM Resorts and Boyd Gaming are partnering for real-money poker with bwin.party digital entertain- ment plc, which appears to be on track to be licensed in Nevada next year. At that point, MGM Resorts and Boyd could choose to go live. It's still unclear if Congress will OK a national poker strategy or if online poker here will be intrastate only. Z4Poker is developing a poker system while also work- ing on potential bingo and keno systems. Cams has sys- tems to manage online player accounts and verify the age, location and identity of players while preventing problems like money laundering and problem gambling. With testing of systems still under way, applicants ap- proved this year were Boyd Gaming, Station Casinos LLC and the founding Fertitta family's Ultimate Poker brand, the Golden Nugget with casinos in Las Vegas and Laugh- lin, South Point Poker, Global Cash Access Holdings and Bally Technologies. Also approved were: SHFL entertainment (formerly Shuffle Master), American Casino and Entertainment Properties, PokerTrip Enterprises, NetEffect Networks, International Game Technology, Monarch Interactive and WMS Industries. 10 | 12 NOVEMBER 2012 |