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BumRushDaShow

(171,500 posts)
Sat May 2, 2026, 03:34 AM Saturday

Spirit Airlines shuts down after White House rescue deal falls through

Source: Washington Post

Updated May 2, 2026 at 3:30 a.m. EDT


Spirit Airlines is shutting down operations effective immediately, the airline said in a statement early Saturday, after a White House proposal to bail out the beleaguered budget carrier fell through.

The shuttering follows “extensive and comprehensive efforts to restructure the business,” the airline said, adding that the recent increase in oil prices and other pressures have “significantly impacted” its prospects. “With no additional funding available to the Company, Spirit had no choice but to begin this wind-down,” it said.

All flights have been canceled, and Spirit passengers should not go to the airport, the statement added. The airline said it would automatically process refunds for any flights booked directly with the company, while those who booked using a travel agent should contact the agent for a refund.

President Donald Trump suggested last week that the federal government should “just buy” Spirit Airlines, which has declared bankruptcy twice since 2024. The administration had been floating a $500 million rescue plan that would have given the government a hefty ownership stake in the budget airline — a proposal that drew criticism from some of Trump’s Republican allies, including within his administration. On Friday morning, reports emerged that the airline was unable to get support for the deal and would soon cease operations.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/02/spirit-airlines-flights-shutdown/



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Spirit Airlines shuts down after White House rescue deal falls through (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Saturday OP
A rescue deal? BidenRocks Saturday #1
no he actually wanted buy into the airline Skittles Saturday #2
With OUR money! BidenRocks Saturday #3
well of course Skittles Saturday #4
Jet Blue was willing to purchase it, so was Frontier ClaudetteCC Saturday #6
Frontier Spirit has a nice ring to it IronLionZion Saturday #10
What would be gained by a merger popsdenver Saturday #12
Since the two airlines had very similar route maps, not much jmowreader Saturday #14
As well as popsdenver Saturday #16
To the extent it reduced competition, Igel Saturday #17
I was thinking popsdenver Saturday #19
"Everything he touches, dies." He's still breathing so it's not everything. cstanleytech Saturday #7
It's the Bezos Washington Post as a source. You expect anything but a stroke job for Trump? AZLD4Candidate Saturday #9
If it had gone otherwise . . . . . no_hypocrisy Saturday #5
Gee, I hope the airline executives are all ok. twodogsbarking Saturday #8
This would have been more of public liability and private profit. Hooray American style capitalism! AZLD4Candidate Saturday #11
It was a god awful airline anyway. Crowman2009 Saturday #13
There's one group of people I grieve for in this situation jmowreader Saturday #15
I'm not feeling happy for the employees, either. n/t Igel Saturday #18
Dang, I liked Spirit (at least for short flights) EX500rider 22 hrs ago #20

BidenRocks

(3,446 posts)
1. A rescue deal?
Sat May 2, 2026, 03:50 AM
Saturday

That was an excuse for chump to grab another headline.
Everything he touches, dies.
He could care less about the laid off workers or stranded passengers.
Fuck your deals! You have no deals!

Skittles

(172,481 posts)
2. no he actually wanted buy into the airline
Sat May 2, 2026, 04:09 AM
Saturday

even some repuke assholes cried foul over that fucking proposed grift

Igel

(37,607 posts)
17. To the extent it reduced competition,
Sat May 2, 2026, 06:43 PM
Saturday

it would have reduced expenses and helped sustainability.

To the extent that there wasn't overlap, it would have retained competition.

When the merger was turned down because of the huge amount of competition that disallowing it would help maintain (that's deeply sarcastic, by the way) it was pointed out that the result of this would inevitably be Spirit's complete demise. And that it's departure from the market would reduce competition more than the merger would have. But disallowing the merger also preserved jobs, not a small bit of the thinking. (Of course, the shutting down ended jobs *and* put a lot of passengers in a pickle, but while predictable and entailed, it's certainly not a consequence of stopping what would probably have been a sounder outcome. I guess.)

If your default 'setting' is 'mergers, bad' then it's hard to get past that setting default to see further down the road, say, a business default.

popsdenver

(2,511 posts)
19. I was thinking
Sat May 2, 2026, 08:28 PM
Saturday

that if there is already a drop off in number of passengers, with the economy bad and getting worse.....and that will hurt all the airlines, but especially the nominal ones first??????

no_hypocrisy

(55,214 posts)
5. If it had gone otherwise . . . . .
Sat May 2, 2026, 05:51 AM
Saturday

Trump would have used OUR taxpayer dollars to buy a struggling airline.

But an airline has no place in the functions of a federal government.

And we wouldn't have "owned" it anyway.

Trump would have re-named it "Trump Airlines".

And like his prior "Trump Airlines," it would have gone under anyway.

AZLD4Candidate

(6,871 posts)
11. This would have been more of public liability and private profit. Hooray American style capitalism!
Sat May 2, 2026, 11:03 AM
Saturday

Crowman2009

(3,578 posts)
13. It was a god awful airline anyway.
Sat May 2, 2026, 02:57 PM
Saturday

Type up Spirit airlines on YouTube and you will get numerous videos of fist fights and screaming arguments. It made Soul Plane look like a first-class upgrade by comparison.

jmowreader

(53,331 posts)
15. There's one group of people I grieve for in this situation
Sat May 2, 2026, 05:52 PM
Saturday

That's all the people who had bought round-trip tickets on Spirit, took their outbound flights, and now are trying to figure out how to get home.

EX500rider

(12,677 posts)
20. Dang, I liked Spirit (at least for short flights)
Sun May 3, 2026, 11:56 AM
22 hrs ago

Have been to Colombia 4 times in the last 5 years, Spirit was $300 r/t out of Tampa, American was $550.
And that was with a carry on & one checked piece of luggage.
For $250 savings I will put up with slightly less leg room & service.

LATAM Colombia was a little cheaper but you had to fly out of Miami. I think they also fly out of Orlando now but still a pain to get there from St Pete.

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