Indigo Partners takes over at Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines announced last week that Indigo Partners, the Arizona-based investment firm run by former America West Airlines head William Franke and Oaktree Capital Management of California, which already was a Spirit investor, "will provide significant resources for the Company to consolidate its position as the leading low-cost carrier to the Caribbean and pursue its long-term growth strategy."

Franke has been named Spirit's chairman, a role he also holds at Wizz Air and Tiger Airways. Amount of the investment was not disclosed. "Indigo and Oaktree provide Spirit with significant industry experience and financial strength," recently appointed President and CEO Ben Baldanza said. "This new investment shows their commitment to Spirit's success." Franke said Indigo looked at the business plans of several US LCCs and was "particularly attracted to the Spirit opportunity."

Spirit operates 30 aircraft on 130 daily flights to 30 destinations. It is replacing its MD-80 fleet with A320 family aircraft, a process that has cost millions but should conclude in September. It lost $62.1 million in 2005, narrowed from a $93.2 million loss in 2004.

Separately, Spirit flew 372.5 million RPMs in June, a 4.1% drop from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 3.6% to 453.7 million ASMs and load factor declined 0.4 point to 82.1%.