Spirit Airlines gets dismal ratings from consumers. The piling on of fees and a recent string of delays has had many swearing off flying on the carrier for good. But the numbers indicate that budget-crunched travelers just can’t quit Spirit Airlines. Spirit Airlines isn’t the first choice for many travelers. Over the summer, in a study of the best and worst airlines in America from Consumer Reports, Spirit Airlines ranked at the very bottom—not only in terms of air travel, but for all industries in recent history. “Spirit Airlines received one of the lowest overall scores for any company we’ve ever rated,” the report stated. More recently, Spirit Airlines has come under fire after, well, a fire caused engine failure on a mid-October flight from Dallas to Atlanta. Less than two weeks later, smoke filled the cockpit of a New Orleans-Dallas flight, causing pilots to make an emergency landing. After the first incident, hundreds of passengers had their travel plans delayed up to 12 hours, according to CNN, and dozens were forced to sleep at the airport in Fort Lauderdale while awaiting their departure. News reports quoted a multitude of cranky, stranded passengers swearing that they’d never fly with Spirit Airlines again. (MORE: “Horrifying” Racist, Sexist Costumes Cause Halloween Backlash) This all sounds like pretty bad news for Spirit. Nonetheless, the airline has to feel pretty good about itself lately. The just-released earnings report shows that Spirit’s third-quarter profits are up an impressive 98% compared to the same period last year. In a statement released regarding the report, Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza said, “It is becoming clear that Spirit’s customers understand that our ultra-low fares plus optional services offer them a total price that’s tough to beat.” Mind you, those “ultra-low fares” are rising. The base cost of Spirit flights rose 15.3% compared to the third quarter of 2012, reaching an average of $83 per flight. Those charges known as “ancillary fees”—anything outside the base ticket, including fees for baggage, seat reservation, food, and more—were up 5.2%, hitting $52 per flight.