I think that first reply in the comments of that article hit the nail on the head. Spirit's CEO is glossing over the facts. The complaints about them to the FAA don't have anything to do with all the extra fees, they have to do with all the delays and cancellations, and then Spirit not doing anything for passengers who they leave stranded. Plus it looks like they have the worst record in the industry. I don't know if I agree with that poster about their lack of maintenance in terms of safety standards but based on what I've read about them and the attitude of their CEO I wouldn't be surprised if they cut corners there as well.

The CEO also makes the ridiculous assertion that even though they have the highest complaint rate in the industry (up to 8x as many as the average airline) the overwhelming majority of their passengers must be happy because they don't complain. That is ridiculous. It takes a lot of time and commitment to file a complaint with the FAA. Most people who have a complaint won't file it in the first place. They just write off Spirit as a bad experience in their life. The fact is if you have 8x as many people filing complaints compared to your competitors it means you have at least 8 times as many, if not more, disgruntled passengers.