My question is WHY? If a business is poorly managed, free market capitalism dictates they should go under even if it means a temporary loss of jobs. It's unfair to the other the carriers, who have managed their business well. Could it be Trump or some of his associates bought stock in the company and are awaiting a bailout announcement so they can pump-and-dump? Suspect insider trading seems to have occurred right before the administration made announcements on Iranian war policy.
President Bush initiated the bailout and President Obama continued it. Now that bailout saved a major component of our economy, and I understand the argument that Sprit is just a drop in the bucket to the economy. But losing a budget airline probably would result in higher ticket prices for budget travelers, so the impact is on more than just the thousands of employees, it’s the 44 million passengers that Spirit carried in just a year.
That said, there’s a political downside for the Trump administration if Spirit goes under. First, war critics will point to the Spirit collapse as just one domino in a series of hits the US economy will take because of fallout from the war. Second, it would cause an uptick in unemployment numbers. And as I stated in the first paragraph, it would negatively impact budget travelers. It should be noted that a merger to save Spirit Airlines was opposed by the Biden administration.
between bailing out a single business in an otherwise viable/profitable industry versus bailing out a major industry from an existential threat, such covid or credit crisis [great recession]. Free markets expect there be winners and losers, and survival belongs not to the biggest but to the most adaptable. The Biden administration opposed the merger of Spirit Airlines with JetBlue, because they felt it would reduce competition and raise ticket prices. So Trump is trying to do the same thing apparently with a taxpayer backed bailout.
The libertarian in me agrees that Spirit should be allowed to fail. But then again, maybe the libertarian in me would have approved the merger. You mentioned the possibility of insider trading tied in the administration tied to the bailout. While that’s true, there’s still a potential value to be secured by purchasing now. The company’s current market value is lower than the value of the jets it owns. But then there’s all the obligations they have dragging that potential down.
UAE running short on cash. Maybe they could get a refund from Trump and his “enterprise” or stop paying blood money to him and Jared
But hey… it’s America First.., right ??
This war is hurting all the Middle East countries…
But History has shown that government intervention through bailouts can often prevent a broader catastrophe, beginning with the Panic of 1792 when Alexander Hamilton authorized the government purchase of securities in order to prevent a complete financial collapse. Since then, the most notable examples of government intervention are as follows:
The Great Depression
The savings and loan crisis
The conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
The collapse of Bear Stearns
The rescue of American International Group (AIG)
The COVID-19 pandemic
In each case, disaster was averted by government bailouts. The last was when the Fed increased the money supply by
$3 trillion to cover the $2 trillion in government bailouts, which took the form of stimulus checks, the PPP, and rent subsidies to businesses and individuals. The final Covid relief total was $4.65 Trillion. Was there fraud, waste and abuse? Absolutely, and the FBI has a division working on recovery and prosecution of scammed funds starting about a year ago and still continuing.
There is a difference between bailing out a business and bailing out an industry integral to the national economy. Allowing the collapse of Spirit Airlines isn't going ruin the airline industry or the economy. It will just weed out a weaker player, which is what expected of free market capitalism. Covid and sub-prime loans were threats to the national economy, so some kind of government intervention was required, much to to chagrin of free market capitalist. Recall Obama's bailout of GM was quite controversial.
From the article . . .
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United CEO Scott Kirby also denounced the idea of a Spirit bailout in a call with analysts Wednesday.
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“Well-run airlines are still solidly profitable even in this environment, as you can see from United,” he said. “I don’t think this crisis anywhere near big enough to cause the need for (an) airline bailout.”
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Kirby added that Spirit’s problems were well established even before the war in Iran.
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“It’s been pretty obvious that Spirit’s business model was fundamentally flawed and the airline was not going to be able to make it (even before the fuel spike),” he said.
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http://www.cnn.com/2026/04/22/business/spirit-airlines-federal-bailout
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If you believe the government should bailout Spirit Airlines, then presumably you believe President Bush should have bailed out K-Mart.
"President George W. Bush did not bail out Kmart during its bankruptcy in 2002–2003 because the administration did not consider a single retail chain failure [to be] a systemic threat to the overall U.S. financial system, and because the administration generally aimed to avoid interfering in market-driven failures at that time." - Gemini AI
Commerce Secretary Lutnick and Transportation Secretary Duffy are the USG leads on the negotiations, and they are some of the sharper guys in this administration. But Senator Ted Cruz has come out against the bailout. I’m inclined to side with Cruz on this issue.
Spirit Airlines Is and always been a poorly run company with shit ass service.
My guess is that Saving jobs in Florida is probably what’s motivating this. And because it’s …. Florida
But no worries Uncle Sam will own a portion of this shit show. Seem like an entitlement program in the brewing.
My experience with Spirit Airlines…. Girl I met in Vegas she lived in SF. I was going to fly her to Vegas for a couple of days. I was gonna book her flight on Spirit Airlines for her. She said she’d fly any airline except Spirit. She felt unsafe and the customer service sucked. They Lost her bags once. …
Airline has a shady history…. But it’s ours now so what can go wrong 😂😂😂???
Do you stay in touch? I LOVE her! She's a lady with standards and not afraid to use her mouth. 😉
And saving jobs in Florida might be a way of influencing voters during the mid-terms.
Bail out the airline… isn’t it socialism???😂😂😂
Besides the jobs savings in Florida, I gotta feelings there’s more behind this.
There’s so many republicans against this ..🤷🏻♂️
“If Spirit’s creditors or other potential investors don’t think they can run it profitably coming out of its second bankruptcy in under two years, I doubt the US Government can either. Not the best use of taxpayer dollars.” - Senator Tom Cotton
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"Americans shouldn’t be on the hook for another failing business as its competition thrives." - Senator Ted Budd
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“There’s been a lot of money thrown at Spirit, and they haven’t found their way into profitability. And so would we just forestall the inevitable and then own that? We can’t make dumb investments. If no one else wants to buy them, why would we buy them?” - Sean Duffy
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http://www.cnn.com/2026/04/23/politics/spirit-airlines-trump-republicans
Evidently Trump and CDL think Spirit Airlines is worthy of a half-trillion dollar government bailout despite their cellar performance.
http://clark.com/travel/best-worst-airlines-america/
Presumably they are awaiting a Trump bailout for a failing business model.
She must be so proud to add another casket to her achievements.
Tonight at 3am, Spirit turns off the lights. 14,000 jobs gone. 30+ smaller airports lose service.
JetBlue offered $3.8 BILLION in cash to buy Spirit in 2022. Shareholders, flight attendants union, literally everyone voted yes.
The combined company would have held 9% of the US market against a Big 4 that already owned 80%.
For anyone who understands numbers: 9% isn’t a monopoly against 80%.
Warren said no.
Her argument: the merger would cost consumers $1 billion a year.
Now look at her collateral damage she dusts under the rug.
510 pilots gone in the months after. 1,800 flight attendants furloughed in December.
14,000 jobs in 2023. 7,500 last week. Zero tonight.
And that’s just the people in Spirit uniforms.
Catering goes. Fuel guys go. Baggage crews, gate agents, airport coffee shops, hotels and rental cars in 70 cities Spirit flew to. Every airline job carries 3 more on its back.
40,000 people out of work because of one woman’s moronic crusade against the market.
And the math ain’t mathing.
Spirit abandoned 90 routes during the death spiral. Fares on those routes are up 14% on average. Oakland to Newark: $135 to $288. Fort Myers to San Juan: $92 to $219. Kansas City to Newark up 66%.
That’s reality. Not some BS number from a “study.”
So @SenWarren tell me how this saves the consumer money?
Cheap carriers in a market drop fares 21% across the board. Southwest did this in the 90s and saved Americans $68 BILLION over 20 years.
Warren killed it. That’s what moronic politicians led by socialism do.
Then with her own blind arrogance, she tweeted Spirit’s collapse is “a Biden win for flyers.”
A win.
14,000 people are reading termination letters tonight.
And she’s taking credit.
This is socialism in 2026.
Earth to Chickie: Socialism is when the government owns or controls everything. Including airlines. Under Trump's bailout plan that's exactly what would have happened to Spirit.
So your article has it exactly ass-backwards. But thanks for quoting some guy called Yogi on economic matters, proving ChicKie is a relentless partisan hack.
Thanks for the unintended humor.
Oh, wait! There's more!!!!
"A senator who’s never made payroll thinks she knows how to run a market better than the people who own and work in the company." WOW!!!
Dear ChicKenShit: those "people who own and work in the company" are ones who MISMANAGED IT INTO BANKRUPTCY.
Jesus. This is what happens when clowns who don't seem to know what socialism actually is quote some random Yogi on complex financial issues.
Lookin' good, ChicKie!
Nicky wasn’t the only liberal who took offense to Yogi’s post, so Yogi blessed us with an explanation:
2) This isn't justifying a bailout or even about that. Learn to read.
3) If you are making this post about Republican vs. Democrat or about Trump, you've lost the plot and god can't even help you.
4) Gas prices were higher on average under Biden. Iran war has shocked oil prices for higher but the company has been in a death spiral since the blocked merger. Cherry picking arguments or deflecting to false flags is not helpful.
Low cost carriers help low income ppl more than you would understand and keep fares competitive in markets. Less airlines is bad. It’s simple.
Citing an X-Clown named Yogi was dumb enough once. But twice? And Yogi fucked it up again for you, ChicKie with a mostly incoherent. word salad.
And naturally you scarfed it down. You make a monkey look smart.
Go water your lawn, ChicKie....
Iran war was the nail on the coffin.
More companies to follow due to this war with really no end in sight
"Spirit’s entire business model depended on historic fuel costs. Their restructuring plan assumed jet fuel would stay around $2.24 per gallon. Instead, prices suddenly skyrocketed to over $4.50 per gallon, driven by global instability following Trump’s war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The result? A total collapse." - Meidas Touch
"The new JetBlue routes—set to begin July 9—directly fill markets Spirit Airlines served, including six destinations JetBlue had not flown to before. The expansion will give JetBlue its largest-ever operation at Fort Lauderdale, with nearly 130 daily departures projected this summer, 75 percent more than last year."
http://www.newsweek.com/spirit-airlines-shutdown-jetblue-picks-up-11-new-florida-routes-11906674
If this war continues the cost of fuel could cause JetBlue to fold
“ JetBlue founder Dave Neeleman says the cost of jet fuel could put the airline into bankruptcy this year according to remarks he made to his current airline's pilots on Tuesday, which were leaked by aviation”
Make America Poor!!
that "we" are going to make a lot of money. Which only demonstrates how little he knows about business and the economy. The oil companies are going to make a lot of money for sure. Almost all Americans won't. In fact, they will have less at the end of the day because they'll be paying more for gas, heating oil, propane and every product that is shipped by truck or air.
All Americans will be poorer because of this militant dimwit.
Wealth fund of the Saudi is bailing out after this year
The war seems to have the Saudi saving for that rainy day that’s coming
And with the UAE leaving OPEC., Saudi might be in a little trouble
Looks like the Saudis are looking for less international investment and more domestic.