Spirit Airlines officially shut its doors early Saturday morning, ending more than 30 years of service and leaving 17,000 employees without work. The closure comes after a last-minute, half-billion-dollar government bailout failed to materialize, marking the final chapter for the ultra-low-cost carrier that primarily catered to budget-conscious travelers.
The airline’s collapse has ignited a fierce political debate over a failed $3.8 billion merger with JetBlue Airways.
That deal, first announced in 2022, was called off in March 2024 following intense opposition from the Biden administration and Congressional leaders, most notably Senator Elizabeth Warren. Critics now argue that blocking the merger effectively signed Spirit’s death warrant.
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Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) took to social media Saturday to hold Warren accountable for the fallout. He noted that the thousands of employees losing their jobs and the travelers facing higher fares could “thank Elizabeth Warren” for her advocacy against the deal.
Moreno, a former businessman, suggested that the decision-making of politicians without private-sector experience has real-world consequences for shareholders and debt holders who have now been wiped out.
At a Saturday morning press conference, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also took aim at the previous administration’s intervention.
Duffy stated that while Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and the DOJ fought the merger to protect competition, history has now judged that denial as a “massive mistake.” He argued that the market was signaling a need for the merger due to Spirit’s financial health and that the current outcome is worse for travelers and competition alike.
Warren, however, has pushed back against the narrative that her opposition caused the collapse. In a post on X, the Massachusetts Democrat attributed the airline’s downfall to external economic pressures, specifically skyrocketing oil prices linked to the Trump administration’s conflict with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. She called these factors the “nail in the coffin” for the carrier.
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She also defended the legal basis for the merger’s failure, pointing out that a Reagan-appointed judge, William G. Young, ruled the deal illegal under the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914. “Republicans are desperate to shift blame from higher costs hitting families,” Warren wrote.
Industry analysts have noted that Spirit’s financial math simply stopped working. GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan pointed out that Spirit’s restructuring plans were built on the assumption that jet fuel would cost roughly $2.20 per gallon over the next few years. Instead, prices surged to approximately $4.51 by late April, creating a gap the airline could not bridge.
As the “Big Four” carriers—American, Delta, Southwest, and United—continue to control roughly 75% of the U.S. market, the loss of Spirit leaves a significant void in the low-cost sector, leaving many to wonder what the long-term impact on ticket prices will be.
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