Spirit Airlines goes out of business after 34 years, ending operations immediately
The Trump administration had considered a government bailout for the cash-strapped business to keep it from going under, but a deal was not reached
West Palm Beach: Spirit Airlines, an impish upstart that shook the industry with its irreverent ads and deep discount fares, announced Saturday that it has gone out of business after 34 years.
The ultralow cost airline that once operated hundreds of daily flights on its bright yellow planes and employed about 17,000 people said it had “started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately.”
The airline said on its website that all flights have been canceled and customer service is no longer available. Some passengers arrived Saturday for flights and were stunned to find them canceled, while workers learned overnight they were out of a job.
“We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come,” Spirit’s announcement said.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday that Spirit had a reserve fund set up for customers who bought directly from the airline to get refunds. People who bought from third-party vendors like travel agents would have to seek refunds from them. He had a stark message for people flying with Spirit.
“If you have a flight scheduled with Spirit Airlines, don’t show up at the airport. There will be no one here to assist you,” Duffy said.
He said United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest were offering $200 one-way flights for people who had Spirit confirmation numbers and proof of purchase for a limited time. Other airlines would also help Spirit employees who might be stranded, as well as offering them a preferential application process as they look for work.
Spirit said in a statement it was working to get more than 1,300 crew to their home bases and that the final Spirit flight landed at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport from Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
The company advised customers that they could expect refunds but there would be no help in booking travel on other airlines.
The Trump administration had considered a government bailout for the cash-strapped business to keep it from going under, but a deal was not reached. Of the potential bailout, Duffy said Saturday “we often times don’t have half a billion dollars laying around.”
President Donald Trump had floated the idea of a bailout last week after the airline found itself in bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in less than two years with jet fuel prices soaring because of the Iran war.
‘They got you there’
Five Spirit flights were still showing as “on time” on Saturday morning on the departure board in Atlanta. A trickle of passengers who hadn’t heard the news were still showing up.
“What!?” exclaimed Taylor Nantang as she, her husband and four children arrived for a Saturday afternoon Spirit flight from Atlanta to Miami for a spur-of-the-moment vacation. The family had driven down from Tennessee to the Atlanta airport.
“So the whole airline at every airport is out of business?” asked Nantang. “Oh my, that’s crazy.”
Other passengers wondered whether the airline would still answer its customer service phone, or when the refunds for cancelled flights might arrive on their credit cards.
Joshua Sigler, who had bought a ticket Friday for a flight Saturday to Miami, said he would just return home after learning of the cancellation, rather than try to take advantage of deals other airlines were offering to stranded Spirit passengers.
He said he had gotten no communication from Spirit, which he had flown multiple times in the past. “They get you there,” he said of past flights. “It was cheap.”