Spirit Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday after the budget airline’s merger efforts collapsed and its losses spiraled out of control.
Driving the news: Spirit plunged into bankruptcy after a $3.8 billion deal to sell itself to JetBlue was blocked by a federal judge and after previous efforts to combine with rival Frontier Airlines fell apart. Spirit has been bleeding cash for years. The company lost money in 17 of its last 18 quarters, including about $336 million in the first half of 2024.
Gee, it’s almost like offering absolute shit service, making everything an additional fee, constantly canceling flights, and never being on-time is a poor business model. Who knew?
Gee, it’s almost like offering absolute shit service, making everything an additional fee, constantly canceling flights, and never being on-time is a poor business model. Who knew?
That isn’t the reason the ultra-low cost airlines (like Spirit) are struggling. Its the opposite. The bigger air carriers simply copied the Spirit business model. Check out United’s Basic Economy fare. Its the same “cheap seat, but nickel and dime for every upgrade” that Spirit does.
I was under the impression you paid less for a ticket on Spirit than you would travelling with other airlines. The extras would bump you up to the cost of a normal ticket elsewhere. Whereas other airlines push the cost of services into the normal price of the ticket.
If you get all the extras it many times bumps you higher than a normal ticket from the larger airlines. As long as you know that, and are willing to fly very light and basic, it can be very cheap to fly the ultra-low cost airlines (like Spirit or Frontier).
In short, if you want full service flight, don’t go ultra-low cost.
Spirit passengers should expect a “restructuring fee” on their next ticket receipt.
