. >> reporter: that is ben baldanza, a man who believes passengers will sacrifice a lot to save a lot. when he took over the struggling airline called spirit and gave it, well, a new spirit. >> the way we like to think of it is, the biggest difference between us and other airlines is, they give you a free coke but charge you $150 more. >> reporter: it's not just that charge $2 for a coke, $12 to reserve a seat and they introduced the idea of changing to check a bag. $19 for the first, $25 for the second, $100 for the third. each way. and as of this week, spirit is even charging for carry-ons placed in the overhead bins. $30 if you check it in online. $45 at the gate. >> there are parts of all of the airline product that are services. and what we should charge are the basics, get you from a to b, have a clean plane and get you a safe flight. >> reporter: that's how spirit undercuts it competitors, even by $100 or more on the same route. but at a high price. in 2008, the u.s. department of transportation said it received more complaints about spirit than any other airline. by a factor o

. >> reporter: that is ben baldanza.ves that passengers will sacrifice a lot to save a lot. he took over the struggling airline, called spirit. and gave it, well, a new spirit. >> the way we like to think of it is that the biggest difference between us and other airlines is they give you a free coke. but they charge you $150 more. if i want to sell you a can of coke for $150, that's what you pay on airlines. >> reporter: it's not that they charge $2 for a coke. they also charge $12 to reserve a seat. and they're the folks that introduced the idea of charging to check a bag. $19 for the first. $25 for the second. $100 for the third, each way. and as of this week, spirit is even charging for carry-ons in the overhead bins. $30 if you check in online. $45 at the gate. that no-frills approach is how spirit undercuts its competitors. often by $100 or more on the same route. but at a high price. in 2008, the u.s. department of transportation said it received more complaints about spirit airlines than any other airline by a fac