Posted on 05/01/2026 9:25:12 AM PDT by bitt
Spirit Airlines is preparing to shutter operations after a $500 million bailout deal with the Trump administration fell apart, according to a report Friday.
The embattled budget airline has been unable to secure enough funding from the government and certain bondholders to keep it in business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Spirit had been in talks with the Trump administration about a deal that would hand the government a stake of up to 90% in exchange for a major cash boost — potentially allowing the White House to use part of the bankrupt carrier’s fleet for military missions, according to CBS News.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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If aircraft are truly our deportation bottleneck and the federal govt needs to actually own the aircraft they can now buy them at auction rather than propping up a failing business.
Great, now the blubber-babes will be be yelling and fighting on other airlines instead.
What airline will the feral hords migrate to I wonder. 🤔
Ah that great Greyhound in the sky!
Maybe Jet Blue will rebrand and become Jet Black?
Saving Spirit would only be temporary. It would be throwing money down a bottomless pit.
They don’t take EBT?
3-2-1....
RACISM! Trump allows BLACK airline to fail. Will Ghetto(Carnival) Cruise Lines be next?
They should really cater to that culture. Have onboard weave salons. Fresh fried chicken. Rap concerts.
Come to think of it. There is a movie...
https://youtu.be/DXrl5K6HngY
Stewardesses rolling by with a cart full of little cans of malt liquor.
> Great, now the blubber-babes will be be yelling and fighting on other airlines instead. <
Spirit Airlines could survive if it just rebranded itself.
Be the airline that offers low cost tickets AND unique in-flight entertainment.
🥊
“If aircraft are truly our deportation bottleneck and the federal govt needs to actually own the aircraft they can now buy them at auction rather than propping up a failing business.”
Very few commercial airlines actually own their aircraft. They are leased. That’s because to buy, say a 747 might cost between $350-445 Million dollars. Whereas leasing costs a fraction of that and therefore you can possess the use of many more aircraft for the same amount of money.
I doubt the availability of aircraft is the limiting factor in deportations. Recall the 2008 financial crisis. Banks did not want to loan money to bad credit risks. The government told the banks, “Gee, ‘dat’s a nice business youse got there. Shame if something should happen to your government supplied business license.” I assure you the same tactic would work just as well with aircraft availability.
You do not want the government owning a fleet of aircraft as the overall costs would be substantially more than just buying tickets. Recall the government took over “The Mustang Ranch,” a whorehouse that had been in continuous operation for more than a hundred years. This was to recover back taxes. The government had to declare bankruptcy. A senator at the time said, “The government is so incompetent that it couldn’t make a go of a business that sells pussy and beer.”
Great comment from the senator!
“If you want to be a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline”.
Spirit Airlines really do suck. Hate people losing their jobs but Spirit is the worst...
I agree with all of that. It was really a comment in general against support of the fed taking a stake in the airline to serve deportation.
I don’t know much about spirit but i’ve only ever heard of them serving domestic markets. Even if the fed did purchase them they would not likely be of models suited for trans pacific or trans atlantic flights.
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