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As the war with Iran pushes oil prices higher, Spirit Airlines has shut down after more than three decades in business
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The airline grounded all flights on Saturday, leaving thousands of passengers stranded with little warning and no customer support
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About 17,000 employees were left without a job. Spirit says that surging fuel costs linked to the Iran war made its low-cost model unsustainable
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The Trump administration is pushing back, blaming the Biden administration for blocking a proposed merger with JetBlue in 2023
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Spirit was in dire straits long before the war with Iran. Multiple times they had filed for bankruptcy. Their model wasn't working. They couldn't get to fiscal health
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If the markets are saying there needs to be a merger because there's health issues with one of the airlines or more than one airline
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we have to take a look at it and make sure we make the right choices. And in this situation, history has judged the denial of the merger between JetBlue and Spirit through the Biden administration with, I think, a view that it was a massive mistake
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says Spirit's collapse does not signal broader trouble for budget airlines, and he does not support a government bailout
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That comes after several low-cost carriers recently asked for $2.5 billion in federal relief
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Duffy dismissed that request, saying some airlines were looking to cash in
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not necessarily based on need, but based on opportunity. Passengers who bought tickets before the Spirit shutdown are being issued full refunds
