The American low cost company that stops operating

The collapse comes after a prolonged period of financial distress, which included losses of more than $2.5 billion since the beginning of 2020, repeated bankruptcy proceedings, a debt of about $8.1 billion and a jump in jet fuel costs following the war in Iran. According to the Guardian, in recent days an attempt was made to promote a federal loan of approximately 500 million dollars, and the possibility of wider government intervention was even considered, but the move did not mature into an agreement. In the background of this is also the blocking of the planned merger with JetBlue in 2024, a deal in the amount of approximately 3.8 billion dollars that was blocked for antitrust reasons, which could have been used for Spirit as a way out of the crisis.

17 thousand workers will be affected

The suspension of operations is expected to affect approximately 17,000 employees and reduce competition in the American airline market, especially on routes where Spirit provided a cheap alternative for price-sensitive passengers. The fear in the industry is that the disappearance of one of the aggressive low-cost companies in the US will allow competitors to raise prices, especially in fields where Spirit had a significant presence, such as Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.