Spirit Airlines said on May 2 that it would cease operations effective immediately, ending a decades-long run as one of the country’s most aggressive budget carriers and leaving families stranded weeks before Memorial Day travel gets underway.
The shutdown landed hardest on travelers who built summer plans around the lowest fares. Spirit lawyer Marshall Huebner apologized in bankruptcy court to Americans who may now be priced entirely out of air travel, and thanked longtime passengers who could not otherwise have afforded air travel.
Huebner said earlier this month that a surge in jet fuel prices had left the company with no remaining way out of bankruptcy. Spirit had been seeking a $500 million lifeline from the federal government, but the bailout from President Donald Trump did not materialize. The airline said it ceased operations last weekend while seeking permission to sell assets on an ongoing basis and pay bonuses to remaining employees.
The collapse comes after oil market volatility that began about 11 weeks ago, when conflict involving Iran disrupted Middle East oil shipments. That shock hit a business model already under strain. Spirit’s demise and bankruptcy troubles had been years in the making, but budget airlines are especially exposed when fuel rises because they cannot easily offset the cost with premium cabins, corporate travel programs or loyalty rewards.
The politics around help for discount carriers also narrowed the escape route. The Association of Value Airlines asked the Trump administration for $2.5 billion in temporary aid, while Airlines for America rejected government intervention on behalf of the value airlines. The value group represented Spirit, Allegiant Air, Avelo Air, Frontier Airlines and Sun Country Airlines; the other group represented American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and Alaska Airlines.
For travelers, the result is immediate and blunt. Spirit’s shutdown closes one of the cheapest remaining entry points into domestic flying, and Huebner’s apology to passengers who may now be priced out of the market is likely the clearest sign of what the loss means: for some Americans, the fare that made a trip possible no longer exists.
