Ben Baldanza, Discount Flight Pioneer at Spirit, Dies at 62
- Airline’s CEO until 2016 went on to host industry podcast
- He was diagnosed in 2022 with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease
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Ben Baldanza, who helped pioneer discount air travel as head of Spirit Airlines Inc. and became a target of passenger irritation over no-frills flights, has died. He was 62.
Airlines Confidential, the podcast Baldanza co-hosted until stepping down in August, announced his death at the start of Wednesday’s episode. An obituary posted on Baldanza’s LinkedIn page said he died on Tuesday. He had been diagnosed in 2022 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.