Spirit Airlines could liquidate as early as this week, sources say
Posted by us1549@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 299 comments
Posted by us1549@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 299 comments
Ok_Excitement725@reddit
Spirit isn't designed for these oil prices let alone all the other issues they are having. That being said, we have seen this headline three or four times in the last 36+ months so who knows whats going on anymore.
EmbarrassedPut3706@reddit
God I hope they last long enough for me to take my vacation next month.
Ok_Excitement725@reddit
I hope they survive. But I'd say anyone with points or any other credits with them should consider using them asap or transferring them out...anything but leaving them. If they were to go under anyone with any of the above becomes a creditor and they sit at the very bottom of the creditor priority list so probably will just lose it all once they divide the company up.
scoobynoodles@reddit
So why wouldn’t they raise prices just like the other airlines to cover rise in fuel costs?
TheWhyOfFry@reddit
Well, if they didn’t hedge fuel, they sold tickets that don’t take into account the huge increase in fuel costs. Hard to price your way out of that.
No_Character_336@reddit
No airlines hedge fuel anymore
NJay289@reddit
I know that Lufthansa does and condors does
No_Character_336@reddit
I was referring to US airlines
ZetaM3@reddit
The vast majority of airlines stopped hedging fuel.
Shawnj2@reddit
They can increase prices on future tickets to offset the cost of
PaulVla@reddit
People would go to airlines that did hedge fuel and have a selling point beyond being cheap.
AuthorityRespecter@reddit
None of the US airlines hedge fuel, though
Digital_plumber00@reddit
Delta does. They bought a refinery years ago now called Monroe energy
AuthorityRespecter@reddit
The refinery is a hedge but its not the holistic hedging airlines used to do
pass_nthru@reddit
just gotta take out the seats snd put up those little straps like on the subway
flume@reddit
They already sold most of the tickets on every flight they're going to take for the next several months. Can't go back and charge more.
Diddylayslow92773@reddit
Fr I have tickets for may ☹️
Excellent-Baseball-5@reddit
But if they gave you these options which one would you choose? (A) pay 20% more to keep your booking or (B) they go out of business and you lose all the money you spent.
Chanel26mc@reddit
Me too... 🙃
Golden_Hour1@reddit
I mean aren't airlines doing exactly that? Adding fuel surcharges to already sold tickets?
disillusioned@reddit
Erm, that's not legal in most cases. Hell, there's some articles about a single airline attempting this, but it's notable because it's either illegal or insanely frowned upon: https://www.aol.com/finance/one-airline-adding-fuel-surcharge-173720347.html
No_Character_336@reddit
They could(and probably will)but I think raising prices adversely affects a ULCC in comparison to a legacy. Plus, I think there are some other issues/shenanigans going on in relation to their bankruptcy restructuring and borrowing that has not been made public that might be the coup de grace.
5redie8@reddit
Because literally their entire product revolves around being cheap
Shawnj2@reddit
If oil is expensive and sets a high floor for ticket prices why wouldn’t you pay a little more to fly basic economy on literally any other airline if you have the option to? If your United flight gets cancelled you’re probably less screwed and it will be more comfortable
sadicarnot@reddit
There was another post that showed several Spirit planes going to the desert.
Top-Cauliflower9050@reddit
Awful lot of their planes ferrying to the “graveyard”.
us1549@reddit (OP)
Lease return supposedly but you never know
Top-Cauliflower9050@reddit
I actually realized that moments after hitting reply and delete my comment though, I should have just edited it.
Coincidental timing for sure but who knows. Time will tell. I feel for their employees if so.
Financial-Grass-6114@reddit
I'll miss the spirit airlines experience
goro-n@reddit
Spirit is a necessary evil, someone has to be around to push prices down so full-service carriers feel pressure. Otherwise they’ll just keep raising prices and reducing service more than they already are.
ScienceMechEng_Lover@reddit
Spirit is also necessary so that we don't have to deal with their passengers on other airlines.
ohlookahipster@reddit
Southwest is about to turn into a mosh pit
rtd131@reddit
This might be controversial but I think Southwest should have pivoted to be a true LCC instead of now trying to compete with the other legacy carriers.
They are in this weird space where they aren't premium enough to take any share away from the big 3 (little to no international, no first class, no lounges, no IFE, underdeveloped loyalty program), but they're priced too high to compete with the LCC's. They also destroyed their loyal customer base by starting to nickle and dime for things and introduce assigned seating.
Southwest's strength is their network and was their branding/loyalty. If they were going to piss off their loyal flyers anyways they might as well have just moved to the Ryanair model and wiped out Spirit and Frontier. Because they're efficient and their network is massive they could have undercut the true LCCs and also taken away some of that market from the big 3.
Now their loyal pax are moving to Delta/United/AA and they're priced too high to compete at all with the true LCCs.
AirplanesMakeMeErect@reddit
Yup, I’ll go out of my way to avoid SW now unless they’re the only ones offering a direct flight AND they’re significantly cheaper.
The changed the things people chose them for. Fuck them and that stupid private equity firm
_SmashLampjaw_@reddit
I think they should have just stayed in the niche they made for themselves.
There is a significant population of travelers who don't like the nickel-and-diming of LCCs but do not fly regularly enough to get value back from the higher costs of legacy carriers.
Southwest just provided straighforward average service for average fairs.
Now they're trying to split the baby by enacting legacy airline policies and the chinsky Spirit fee crap. They're going to lose their reliable customer base.
Stunning-Asparagus97@reddit
They're going to lose their reliable customer base.
Should be past tense - they've already lost me.
L_Cranston_Shadow@reddit
Same. They inflicted what is probably the worst self inflicted mishap since Alaska bought and dismantled Virgin Airlines.
rtd131@reddit
I'm not an airline economist or anything, but I do think they needed to change something or else they'd keep stagnating.
Just like with everything else, costs have increased a ton the last 5 years. Southwest famously didn't have many ancillaries: you buy a ticket, you get any seat you want, bags, no change fees, etc. but SWA didn't really command a revenue premium for any of this and so higher costs + lower sales (post pandemic everyone wanted to fly abroad) = lower margin, which is in the airlines is already pretty tight.
The Big 3 airlines have held their margins over the past few years (again AA kind of the exception) and that's because of 1. Their networks & partners 2. Better monetization of premium products and meeting demand for premium travel and 3. Their loyalty and credit card programs.
Considering SWA can't really do anything about the first point they're trying to level the playing field on 2 and 3 (which I think they'll probably fail at but who knows).
If they had kept doing the same thing I think they'd just bleed market share. Take Denver for example, where SWA competes with UA and has been losing market share. UA has been ramming their credit cards down everyone's throats, and if you have their base card you get a free checked bag which was one of the biggest value adds for Southwest anyways. But if you're loyal to UA, you can fly everywhere Southwest flies from Denver + Hawaii + Canada + Europe + Asia direct on United. And you can use your miles for upgrades, business class, lounges etc.
So you have the option of flying on one or the other, and the price is around the same (which in Denver it usually is pretty close), you get way more from being loyal to UA than from SWA. Of course it's dependent person to person but that's kind of the predicament SWA was in before they started to make all these changes.
naterthepilot2@reddit
A conventional LCC model doesn’t work in the current economic environment because the income bracket that made up the majority of LCC passengers now can’t afford to fly at all. Major carriers are all investing in premium because that’s where the demand is. Thank you K-shaped recovery and young DINKs doing leisure travel for their social media side hustle who want to show off business class on their TikTok, not spirit economy…
CardinalOfNYC@reddit
Without free bags and without especially discounted prices, I don't see any reason to fly southwest ever again.
Used to fly with them all the time but now there is literally just no reason to do so, there is no benefit to choosing them over the big legacy guys.
Stunning-Asparagus97@reddit
And more reason not to.
Because many of the further-out places I would fly with them always required a layover and connecting flight.
Without the free 2 bags checked free perk, it just isn't worth the downsides anymore.
TxsToIowa@reddit
I used to live near Love Field so Southwest was a big deal in the neighborhood. On top of everything you've mentioned, they also changed their corporate culture for the worse. I don't remember names or dates, but sometime around 2010-2014 didn't they have some executive turnover? I think those changes have come home to roost in a big way.
Rare-One1047@reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/SouthwestAirlines/comments/1ji79zt/elliott_management_is_dismantling_everything/
timelessblur@reddit
When my wife and I lived in DFW we got to a point we hated Love field. Southwest would need to beat American Airlines by $50 for our tickets to consider flying out of Love. Sadly it was pretty rare for southwest to do that. Now to be far we did in SouthWest Fort Worth. Drive time to DFW vs Love was roughly the same. We just found the parking and airport for DFW just be better. Big time after they close the hidden security check point at Love and you had to through general security we really hated love field.
Several-Eggplant4460@reddit
One thing going against Southwest is that they never understood the power of online travel agents. Their fares never appeared on searches online and seldom in corporate travel agent sites. They've definitely missed out on a whole bunch of flights because they don't show up and some people simply don't remember/bother to specifically check for their flights.
disillusioned@reddit
Ostensibly, this was always out of a function of wanting to not have to pay the commission, and instead being able to keep fares down, but man, Southwest's fares have continued to creep up so much that they're regularly greater than Main Cabin on AA for instance.
Further, they destroyed some useful routes for me personally: they dropped PHX - NYC n/s, and they dropped PHX - DTW (though I think that might be back now), and for the price... it just became unreasonable.
Most regular travelers pick loyalty based on home airport route network, which is why I switched to AA. With PHX as a hub, I can get very, very far with 1-stop, and their nonstop route network from PHX is pretty solid as well.
Stunning-Asparagus97@reddit
I used to fly Southwest for vacations because their "2 bags fly free" was the great value differentiator for us. I could live with the no assigned seating, boarding by groups of 60 thing, etc.
But once they got rid of their "bags fly free" true value differentiator, they list me as a "Check Southwest first" customer. Their corporate decidion-making will probably become a future B-school case study on how to destroy a brand-loyalty advantage.
08mms@reddit
Their move to pay for seats has pissed me off so much. Before everyone ended up sitting near their overhead luggage so the plane cleared out ASAP but now we are back to other airlines where it gets all jumbled and takes twice as long to get off the plane. I’ve been a pretty loyal SW flyer for years, but I’d they follow the premium airlines to a place where there are change fees and non-refundable tickets, I’ll be gone for good.
Over-Conversation220@reddit
SWA has IFE. It’s not seatback. You use their app. But they have free movies and TV.
rtd131@reddit
Yeah that's true. So they can compete with American but not united or Delta 😂
Over-Conversation220@reddit
Correct. But in their defense, my used bicycle with a flat tire can also compete with American.
Luster-Purge@reddit
The investment firm's stooges that are in charge have decided that Southwest needs to cater to the exact same people the other airlines do, for all the extra cash.
By doing do they're alienating the people who just want to get from A to B without dealing with the crap the LCCs engage in where every single aspect has to be an upcharge. And free bags was definitely the crown jewel of the whole operation.
I used to fly Southwest when I could because of free bags meant the whole shebang was cheaper, even if I had longer travel times and always had to do layovers. Now? Delta might be a couple hundred more, BUT they also offer me direct flights so I get more from my money in time saved. The only time I think I'm ever going to go SW again is if I need to go through Love Airfield for obvious reasons.
Familiar-While3158@reddit
Southwest needs something to differentiate their service from other carriers. There's nothing special.
InfidelZombie@reddit
Every time I look at Southwest it's 1.5-2x more expensive than Untied, Delta, or Alaska. I've never flown them but I can only imagine it's an ultra-premium experience.
CalmEmotion2666@reddit
Southwest until recently was more expensive than flying legacy. And I'd take them over United or American and day.
Turbulent_Crow7164@reddit
A mosh pit with assigned seating
AppropriateCattle69@reddit
Still hate they changed it.
Cocomorph@reddit
I paid more for a flight recently to avoid Southwest because I am still so pissed.
nauticalfiesta@reddit
southwest isn't gonna be around for long with private equity doing its usual thing
Sceadugangen@reddit
🤘
10tonheadofwetsand@reddit
Spirit serves a market that otherwise would not fly.
TrynnaFindaBalance@reddit
Yeah also part of this might be just a correction or slowdown in the post-Covid tourism surge. The most price-sensitive consumers are gonna be the ones to bail first.
Inevitable_Writer667@reddit
Remember that post-COVID income inequality increased quite a bit. Yes people with higher incomes started spending on premium cabins but working-class people lost purchasing power. u/10tonheadofwetsand is right in that this is a market of mostly leisure travelers that would not fly otherwise. Though I still think Frontier can exist to lower prices to some degree. Florida market could have very slighty increased prices but imo that market is still highly saturated.
Golden_Hour1@reddit
So what you're telling me is there will be somewhat less assholes in touristy areas if they go under?
.. I dont see the problem actually
Brichigan@reddit
Spirit serves a market that otherwise wouldn’t wear shirts
CaptainKursk@reddit
If only the United States had High Speed Rail...
Markol0@reddit
If the greyhound bus had a jet engine.
Then_Hearing_7652@reddit
Ironically an airline with like the newest fleet.
Fickle_Fox515@reddit
One of the best comments I think I've read in a long time.
wesleyvb@reddit
Spirit is the public bus of the skies
Crazy_Brandon99@reddit
Dumbest comment 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
Muschina@reddit
This as well. Is Frontier going to seize the mantle of airline most likely to host a fist fight?
BaiMoGui@reddit
If the prices go up those passengers are no longer flying. Which is a good thing.
AcidaliaPlanitia@reddit
Reminds me of Ryanair. I'll never fly on it, but it sure keeps other European carriers honest on pricing.
floo82@reddit
Lol as a poor in the EU, I fucking loved Ryanair.
"Bring nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories."
(Because you're not allowed to have any carryon or luggage.)
InfidelZombie@reddit
Hell, I was rich in the EU and loved Ryanair. It's just free money for anyone who can read (and actually does so).
kilobitch@reddit
How is it that Ryanair is going strong but ULCC can’t make it in the USA?
LupineChemist@reddit
Prices normalized for distance are not that much more. But also, people in the US would NOT be ok with European salaries. (Like 1500€ a month would be normal). And that money has to come from somewhere.
Vindictive_Turnip@reddit
Cars vs public transit and the availability of time off. Feel free to correct me.
Ryanair does lots of short hops, people doing quick weekend trips. They get to their destination, which has working public transportation, have a good adventure over the weekend, then fly back.
In the us, everything is set up for cars. You could fly 4 hours somewhere cool, but then you'd have to pay 2x a Ryanair ticket to rent a car for 2 days. May as well drive for a day instead.
Also in the us, the people who would pay Ryanair price don't get nearly the same amount of time off. Most people in that age/income bracket are lucky to get a week of PTO and are vulnerable to bad insurance/medical debt and paycheck to paycheck living.
disillusioned@reddit
Frontier seems to be doing alright...
IAmBoring_AMA@reddit
Most uncomfortable flight I’ve ever taken was from Brussels to Rome on Ryanair… started before I even boarded as I wasn’t prepared to sprint across the tarmac to the plane lmao. Still, not terrible for the price.
ImaginaryBluejay0@reddit
Spirit is unironically my favorite airline because it's cheap enough that you can get 2-3 drinks and chill while still being several hundred under the first non-crap airline flight. So fucking what if the chairs half half an inch more padding it is uncomfortable anyways I might as well be uncomfortable and sloshed and save money.
Rare-One1047@reddit
Seriously. We took a few trips in 2024 on American, and you felt like a sardine in a can. It wasn't a good experience unless we paid an extra $500/seat/trip for better seats. I take Spirit almost exclusively now, because the experience is basically the same.
zuniac5@reddit
Because of Spirit, we have basic economy with knee-crunching seats for anyone over 5’8”. I’m not exactly playing the sad violin here.
lightningzap66@reddit
and without spirit we have $700 2 hour domestic flights between major US cities
adjust_your_set@reddit
If not Spirit, it’ll be another airline who can move into that space and pay below market wages until their crew gains enough seniority to have cost parity with their counterparts.
lightningzap66@reddit
unfortunately this isnt guaranteed. in many cases, the hub airline at a fortress hub can buy up spirit's gates when they leave to prevent any future competitors from having access to them
Never_Forget_94@reddit
That seems anti competitive
I_am_Mun_C@reddit
Yes, the entire aviation industry is anti-competitive and largely always has been.
lightningzap66@reddit
yes and
Phoenixmaster1571@reddit
The FAA is a teensy bit better about that now, and they do try to give other airlines first crack at open gates before the giants manage to scribble a 40-yr contract for them.
BigDiesel07@reddit
As someone who flies out of Detroit... Yeah, not looking forward to that if it occurs.
Spiritual-Physics700@reddit
We are flying TPA to ORD next month, Spirit was $400~ for 2 round trip tickets. United wanted 1k lol
zuniac5@reddit
We have that now though. With Spirit.
grantwwu@reddit
Perhaps on the routes that Spirit isn't flying.
lightningzap66@reddit
nope. spirit pulled out and frontier cut capacity of a route I frequently fly and Delta raised the prices by $100 as a baseline almost immediately with their surge going from $600 to 800
Basic_Butterscotch@reddit
I fly from PHL to ORD several times a year with Frontier and have never had an issue. Usually round trip is under $100 but I don’t buy any add ons at all.
It seems like their fares have gone up a lot recently unfortunately I assume because the cost of jet fuel.
lightningzap66@reddit
PHL to ORD isnt a good example. That route has 2 carriers with daily flights and frontier has 4x per week. Look at ATL-MSP or ATL-SLC
ilrosewood@reddit
We have that now
Visible-Disaster@reddit
2 hours? Try $800 for a 45 minute flight from MSP to MKE!
Chronigan2@reddit
So you'd rather pay more for the same conditions or less? Charge as much as you can for as little as you can get away with is the core philosophy of capitalism.
zuniac5@reddit
I'd rather pay the same as I was paying for the amount of space I was paying for before Spirit started off the race to the bottom. /s
I'm not one of Spirit's customers, if that's what you're getting it. I refuse to fly with them, and I pay more to fly with anyone else. My point is that Spirit has enabled the other airlines to make their product worse under the guise of "well they're doing it, so we have to too".
biggerty123@reddit
That's like saying the Nissan versa forced Honda to make a shittier civic.
IncidentalIncidence@reddit
you're right, no corporate C-suite had ever come up with the idea of defraying their fixed costs by increasing revenue until Spirit did it. Truly innovators in the space
NormanQuacks345@reddit
do you think those would go away if sprit did or something
Veritech-1@reddit
The new Spirit CEO made a super poignant comment: “even if you’ve never flown on Spirit, we have saved you money.”
us1549@reddit (OP)
Capitalism doesn't work that way. If you sell a product that nobody wants to buy, then you go out of business.
There is not a caveat in capitalism where we keep shitty companies in business purely because it drives down prices
balls2hairy@reddit
Capitalism DOES work that way. What a dumb take. Competition brings down prices. That's Econ 101.
us1549@reddit (OP)
What happens when the prices are too low and companies go out of business?
goro-n@reddit
Let’s not pretend many airlines aren’t subsidized in some way all over the world. We can look at Europe, Middle East, Asia, and can find many examples of this. Many otherwise unprofitable airlines are kept afloat because the government thinks they’re necessary for the market.
cat_prophecy@reddit
America is kind of unique in that we don't have a national carrier. BA, KLM, ANA, Air France, El Al, it goes on and on. They all get direct subsidies as a national carrier.
AnyClownFish@reddit
El Al’s funding is quite opaque as the Israeli government pays for their enhanced security costs, but apart from that none of the airlines you listed receive ‘direct subsidies’. Almost all state-owned airlines were subsidised in the past, and virtually every airline in the world was subsidised in some way in 2020, but that isn’t the usual situation for any of the major European airlines or the Japanese and Korean carriers.
The Middle Eastern and Chinese carriers are admittedly a bit more questionable.
balls2hairy@reddit
They go out of business? Lol what is your point.
Frontier is priced similarly and aren't going out of business. It's a management issue, not a price issue.
us1549@reddit (OP)
Frontier has something spirit doesn't, scale and they are owned by a private company so they can raise cash without going to the public markets.
Apples and oranges
SubarcticFarmer@reddit
I thought spirit was larger than frontier before this all started
balls2hairy@reddit
YOU just said it's because prices are too low?
You can Google the strategy differences. All the info is out there.
Nobody is loaning cash without reviewing their books. It can't be both that they're privately floating on PE and they are hemorrhaging money.
skabberwobber@reddit
Called frontier
TigerUSA20@reddit
Yeah, Frontier and Allegiant are making in roads into additional markets being vacated by Spirit where it seems feasible.
swheat7@reddit
Took a gamble flying Spirit last month. They cancelled our return flight after we sat in the airport for two hours. No explanation. Left my child I stranded at EWR at midnight with nowhere to go. Never again. I couldn't care less if they don't survive. Cost us an extra $1,500 for a hotel and flight home on a real airline that came to our rescue.
us1549@reddit (OP)
“Spirit is a small airline. But there are those who love it,” Young, who was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, wrote in his ruling. “To those dedicated customers of Spirit, this one’s for you.”
Historical-Listen102@reddit
Caveat with I’m not rooting for anyone to lose their jobs, but it’s hard to blame the judge for a poorly run company which has declared bankruptcy twice in the past year.
timelessblur@reddit
But man will it screw up the pilot market for a while as the legacy will gladly scoop up all those pilots with out the mess of seniority list merging.
LupineChemist@reddit
If I were ALPA, I'd be pushing for an industry wide seniority list so pilots can jump between companies at the same seniority and actually force competition.
Shadoscuro@reddit
This has been my biggest gripe with seniority when you compare it to other unionized industries. In it's current form, it only favors the airlines.
Alpa national is not the same as Delta Alpa which is not the same as Spirit Alpa.
Inevitable_Writer667@reddit
Mergers can cause people to lose their jobs, but liquidations do that at a much greater scale. That being said when an airline goes under or gets bought usually the people affected have to relocate.
theboomvang@reddit
For what it's worth, I don't think JetBlue could have completed the merger anyways.
Cherry_Crusher@reddit
Dang no more ratchet videos
Inevitable_Writer667@reddit
This is really the beginning of the end in some ways. LCCs in the US have faced lower population density, higher salaries, and higher airport fees than in Europe, and the oil crisis has totally raised their CASM.
As for passengers, they've honestly struggled with the post-COVID patterns of travel, with income inequality rising and less people in the working class that can afford to fly. Ultimately this leads to a decreased RASM fast as the airline still has to fill its seats to acquire ancillary revenue.
It's just the worst mix of stuff that could be happen, but generally the elements of post covid that make it bad for LCCs make it good for mainlines.
jmkreno@reddit
I mean, they aren't perfect, but they do serve a purpose. Them and Frontier. For example, Southwest wants upwards of $250-$300 PER PERSON to fly to Vegas from Reno (in the same state). I have to travel to see family in Vegas multiple times a year. Spirit and Frontier both offer flights for as low as $50-75 one way on many dates and have saved me the 7 hour drive countless times in the last few years. Without them, Southwest WILL be the only game in town and I am not going to pay upwards of $1200 for my family of 4 to fly south in the same state, add bags on top of that for a week stay.
May have to end up driving the route between RNO and LAS more often again...40 minute flight or 7 hours one-way.
ghman98@reddit
For me, traveling to my hometown means paying $150 RT on Allegiant out of a nearby regional airport or paying $450 RT to fly out of my local Delta fortress hub. If not for ULCCs, my life would be drastically different for the worse. I seriously hope this isn’t a sign of things to come for this group of airlines
Inevitable_Writer667@reddit
Allegiant's strategy is a little bit different from the rest of the LCC's, in the way that I think they'll be a little more insulated from any of the crises. That being said, I think general income inequality, lack of cheaper secondary city airports, and high taxes and salaries are the main thing that hurts the major LCCs
SackOfCats@reddit
Um. That's why they have bankrupted twice, and are about to liquidate my guy
_SmashLampjaw_@reddit
You can understand from a business perspective why that particular route would demand a higher price per passenger, right? Compared to say Chicago to Vegas?
There's absolutely no way they're filling up 737s for in-state flights from one gambling hub to another.
Knineteen@reddit
Oof.
I flew JetBlue from NYC to Vegas last fall for $200 round trip. Direct flights, seat selections and carry on included.
lumiranswife@reddit
We have the same in my area, multiple options in a day to Vegas or Florida for less than it costs to park my car in a lot for the weeks we're gone, not spending a fortune just to get there eases the final bills for being there. I had to take a last-minute trip to DC a decade ago and it was $1500 for general seating on Delta, which was the only carrier that met my meeting timeline.
I'm so unsure about the Spirit ire. I travel to work events solo and have only taken Delta, but I've flown Spirit and Frontier more recently for vacations because it was the whole family going and the price difference was notable. It wasn't awful, mostly on time or understandably delayed, not even bad travelers on our flights that caused problems.
I will say these factors are in play: I am very short so finding space in my seat is not uncomfortable (but very tall husband and average height kids seemed to have no issue), the lack of movie screen is mitigated by traveling with my people so we're not bereft of areas to focus, and the kids and I will typically seat together so minimal interaction with other passengers. We've taken a few Spirit or Frontier flights for family vacations and had whole rows to ourselves where we spread out and lounge, and the FAs are pretty relaxed and funny.
I'm actually a little disappointed to hear Spirit may be no more, but maybe I just got super lucky on my trips.
TheGooose@reddit
Id argue SWA isnt even a LCC anymore… sometimes their prices are higher than the legacies
CommentsOnOccasion@reddit
That’s an insane price for that route but I guess Reno isn’t a hub?
I get SW tickets from San Diego to Baltimore for that price at like 4-5 times the distance
jmkreno@reddit
Yea RNO has the "RNO" tax for most airlines it seems. Convenient airport so they jack up rates.
RedPajama45@reddit
Dang its that cheap to fly to Reno? I'm gonna do a day trip next time I'm in Vegas. Lol
jmkreno@reddit
It can be. We're going RNO to LAS so probably more expensive. More often it's like 150 round trip but still that's a deal compared to Southwest.
CellistMundane9372@reddit
I have held upper-tier status (1K, EP, DL Platinum) across the Big 3. I flew Spirit First both ways across the country last year. The seats do not recline (they're "pre-reclined").
Other than the lack of full recline or a bona fide meal (but they repeatedly offered decent snacks), it felt like any other domestic first class flight I've taken in the past several years. In fact, the flight attendants were more attentive. The experience was essentially indistinguishable from any sub-1000-mile flight on a major carrier.
And it cost less than $500 each way. Right now, the major carriers want double for connecting flights.
I will be sad if Spirit goes. Sad for the employees, but also sad because it served an important purpose and a discount premium option was a valuable addition to the market.
airpab1@reddit
Why didn’t they merge with Frontier?!
StarbeamII@reddit
Shareholders wanted JetBlue
airpab1@reddit
And now they have oblivion
Marsupialize@reddit
It would be a huge loss for the bodycam enjoyer community
flaginorout@reddit
That’s what I just said to myself
“Way less body cam content now”
I watched a reel where an airport cop said “it’s always Spirit. We should just have post at these gates” lol
Marsupialize@reddit
I mean, that 70 dollar ticket is literally pretty much the entire net worth of a bunch of people flying on Spirit, it sounds bad but it’s totally true, like, 70 dollars is more than they have in their bank account so they NEED that refund or NEED to get on THAT flight for court
PM_ME_YOUR__THIGHS@reddit
Some of you people in this thread have clearly never flown Spirit and it shows.
ZippyDan@reddit
I've flown them dozens of times.
It's like taking a bus.
It's nothing pleasant but it's also completely uneventful.
It's crowded, but that's what you expect on a bus.
InfidelZombie@reddit
Exactly. I think the people who complain about Spirit are the same ones throwing away hundreds of dollars upgrading to business class overseas.
Sceadugangen@reddit
It's almost like running a mile-high fight club isn't actually a good business model.
Punkrawk78@reddit
Yet Waffle House continues to persist. Haha.
DullMind2023@reddit
Waffle House has direct competition?
ZZ9ZA@reddit
It's called IHOP.
DullMind2023@reddit
Hmmm. I find IHOP much classier than WH. Though Denny’s is best. But for the airline analogy you are totally correct.
ZZ9ZA@reddit
IHOP is normal during the day. iHop at 3am is….not.
DullMind2023@reddit
LOL, never had the 3AM pleasure!
CaydeTheCat@reddit
The sign in the Waffle House my dad goes to every Saturday morning...
Processing img li2bun9mqfvg1...
SisterTrashPanda@reddit
They use the video to train their employees in the waffle house combat system:
https://youtube.com/shorts/iVapOnnOwUg?si=03ur_V8eqPQYtAfE
rallar8@reddit
I mean Ryanair exists, and it’s not a fight club
esciee@reddit
It is sometimes.
Still_Detail_4285@reddit
Waffle House is a national treasure.
Sceadugangen@reddit
Waffle House is an amateur Octagon that happens to serve a decent breakfast.
You can't throw people through windows on a plane. It's not safe.
Mekroval@reddit
Found the account of a Boeing whistleblower, lol.
Punkrawk78@reddit
Luckily the seats on planes are bolted down.
Te_Luftwaffle@reddit
Spirit Airlines isn't a FEMA disaster level indicator
863rays@reddit
TBF, not a mile high (unless they’re in Denver, too)…
Punkrawk78@reddit
High does describe most of their customer base though.
863rays@reddit
👊🏻
Baron_VonLongSchlong@reddit
Denver checking in - dispensary business usually keeps the customers in check. Unless they get raw Coors in their system. Then it’s all go.
863rays@reddit
😂
killd1@reddit
Doesn't it work fine in Europe? RyanAir, EasyJet, Wizz Air all offer low cost, no frill flights.
Winston_Carbuncle@reddit
I guess there are cultural differences at play also.
boning_my_granny@reddit
Like what
Winston_Carbuncle@reddit
There are many cultural differences between European countries let alone between Europe as a monolith and the USA. Do you expect me to list them all?
rctothefuture@reddit
Don’t be silly, it couldn’t possibly be Socioeconomics causing the difference! /s
Winston_Carbuncle@reddit
I meant cultural differences not socioeconomic factors
emmie-claire@reddit
Trains are a real competitor for a lot of routes. Not every route of course but much more of a factor than in NA
Winston_Carbuncle@reddit
Still various factors at play with trains. Flying is cheaper in the UK, for example, than most train routes.
pumpkinfarts23@reddit
The average flight in Europe is much shorter than the US. That's also why Southwest's original model worked when it was a Texas focused airline, and feel apart as it grew to be a national carrier.
ALA02@reddit
Europe and the US are about the same size, what are you on about
cguess@reddit
The major metropolitan areas in Europe are more evenly spread. The US's two main regions are operated by a whole lot of nothing.
HuskerDont241@reddit
Southwest’s continual growth from the 90’s through the 2010’s kept average labor costs down and secured favorable pricing on acquiring aircraft while the legacy carriers were issuing furloughs and outsourcing during that time.
WN’s current issues arise from the “need to increase shareholder value”.
killd1@reddit
I would need some data to believe that as fact. I can't see there's that huge a difference in travel distances. Most of the US traffic is East Coast to East Coast since that's the biggest population center. Similarly, most of the EU pop lives in NW (UK, north France through West Germany).
IncidentalIncidence@reddit
keep in mind Europe is significantly more densely populated than the US. There are a lot more short-haul routes between secondary airports with high travel demand, which is pretty much the perfect business case for the LCCs. And because European cities themselves are compacter, using secondary airports there is more viable than in the US where traffic is more concentrated into the primary airports.
Ex. Raleigh to Charlotte is a similar distance as Frankfurt to Marseille, but obviously the travel demand is much larger for Frankfurt-Marseille. And there's only ~3 population centers between Raleigh and Nashville (Charlotte, Asheville, Nashville) but about 20 between Frankfurt and Marseille.
fraxker@reddit
Raleigh to Charlotte is only ~150 miles while Frankfurt to Marseille is over 4 times that distance. Not that it makes that much difference in flight time but it is definitely closer to Atlanta to DC length instead or Raleigh to NY.
IncidentalIncidence@reddit
you're absolutely right, I meant to write Raleigh-Nashville and brainfarted
Shawnj2@reddit
What about travel within the northeast, PNW, California, etc?
I_am_Mun_C@reddit
There’s some survivorship bias there. Ultra-low cost carriers go under in Europe all the time. We just remember the notable survivors.
The_Bard@reddit
The European discount airlines take it a lot farther than US discount Airlines. Much smaller leg room, refuse to pay for ramp access, only fly out of farther out airports, etc. The major US airways subcontract regional airlines to run the shorter hops, smaller planes, and discount routes and run them under their brand like Delta Connection and American Eagle. There's very little room to compete directly with major airlines when they have the major routes and smaller routes locked up.
10tonheadofwetsand@reddit
Labor and operations costs are lower there.
You’d be fine pressed to find a pilot at an American legacy airline itching to go fly in Europe.
kobrons@reddit
I think you'd be fine pressed to find a pilot from a European legacy airline itching to work for Ryanair
BaiMoGui@reddit
Europeans don't understand how violent and impulsive Americans can be, especially those on the low end of the economic spectrum.
zuniac5@reddit
It is/was a containment unit for the aviation industry. Woe be unto normal, well-adjusted travelers this summer…
JordanGiior@reddit
Have a flight at the end of May from NYC to Detroit round trip . Hopping I can still keep my flight . Looking into other options in case .
ktrain_77@reddit
Do u think mine for may 8th and 10th chopped? I’m so worried now
ktrain_77@reddit
Bro I just bought a flight the other day for may 8th and may 10th….am I cooked bro im so heated
ktrain_77@reddit
No warning on the site or app or anything bro like wtf
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maktus@reddit
Spirit proudly serves the 'Projects.'
Caucasians, why are you here?
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Familiar-While3158@reddit
I'm still surprised Spirit has survived this long:
(1) The flights are already booked for several months out at lower prices, which begs the question; why didn't they buy long term fuel contracts or price in some cushion? (2) Airlines burn cash: Legacy carriers price in protection to ensure they continue as a going concern. First class passengers cover economy flyers. (3) No Goodwill: Bad PR. Bad experience = not a return customer. (4) Failed Strategy: Budget carriers tried to break into existing hubs. Today's hubs were built by small carriers slowly building a base of operations away from their competition. Spirit management forgot aviation history.
Price competition is not sustainable as it sacrifices everything else, and eliminates strategic options to differentiate your product.
Your move, Southwest, JetBlue, Frontier...
Elios000@reddit
all 3 are not in great shape either. SWA current leadership is just trash and removed everything made SWA good. not there no better then AA or Delta and COST MORE
CalmEmotion2666@reddit
Their changes suck but it's impossible to argue that they haven't worked. To most people, flights are a commodity, which is why LCC get time and again rewarded.
Elios000@reddit
its not there bleeding customers
I_am_Mun_C@reddit
Hindsight is 20/20. It wasn’t that long ago that Spirit was printing money and growing, and all the big legacy carriers were desperately trying to figure out how to tread water.
Also, no, Legacy airlines do not hedge fuel like they used to. It is expensive, and if you bet wrong you lose your cost competitiveness. Swaps can and do backfire badly. Southwest was the last US airline that comprehensively hedged fuel, but I believe they too have stopped in recent years.
Ok-Yogurtcloset-9261@reddit
Does this mean big fat at Princess Shaniqua will be sitting next to me on my AA fight? Asking for a friend..
slwilke13@reddit
Na they’re moving to Frontier or Southwest.
Starks@reddit
Spirit's clientele might just stop flying altogether. Maybe Frontier can fill Spirit's niche.
ohst8buxcp7@reddit
Thank you Lina Kahn!
CensoredbytheGOP@reddit
No way you're telling me the Sprint Mobile is airlines is struggling?
planetrainguy@reddit
I’ve read this article 10 times in the last 2 years ill believe it when I see it
VanillaTortilla@reddit
Like a furniture store going out of business.
penisthightrap_@reddit
I don’t know what world I’m living in but I have had okay experiences with Spirit and much prefer them over Frontier.
I haven’t had any issues with the other people flying Spirit so either I’ve been lucky or I’m the people that get looked down on? Sorry I’m poor, I guess?
LupineChemist@reddit
I generally can't afford premium cabins, but can usually swing big front seat.
It's great.
MyDF-Throwaway@reddit
Yeah, same. Regular, uneventful flying experiences.
PJKetelaar3@reddit
My brother was a captain at Spirit and started at American Airlines yesterday. He's been sweating this for some time.
lingeringneutrophil@reddit
I have flown this airline once, and I have to say that their passengers are the trash of the trash and I would rather pay double the prize then go through this again or take the train or the bus. There are certain things in life that are just not worth it and it wasn’t just the passengers; the cabin crew was absolutely horrible as well, and I just feel like there has to be a line in terms of bottomness that we don’t cross. Spirit is the line.
Winston_Carbuncle@reddit
I'm not from the US so not familiar with Spirit but I'm sure I saw a video of gate staff being extremely rude to a customer. I seem to remember it was Spirit and your experience seems to track.
sunduckz@reddit
Legit could have been any us airline lol gate agents in the us are rude regardless of airline
SuperChingaso5000@reddit
Really depends on the route. Some are fine and some I will and have gladly paid double not to get stuck next to some slackjawed amoeba and their ten uncontrolled kids
RockosModernForLife@reddit
I’ve flown almost all major carriers pretty frequently for years, and honestly the Delta flights were by far the worst. 19 boarding groups that take an hour to board, pure chaos at the gate, oversold flights, no bag storage forcing checked bags at the gate multiple times, and TWICE having luggage get exploded all over the bag claim conveyor for poor handling. Their customer service reps at both JFK and MCO told us to fuck ourselves with zero compensation. I’ll take delays and school bus seating over that garbage any day.
JeanRalphioTheSecond@reddit
I can deal with it … barely. My main issue is the reliability. A spirit ticket is almost a raffle. About even odds your flight will really happen
AngryScottish@reddit
While I don't necessarily like seeing airlines fail, I never had a pleasant experience on Spirit.
I also never arrived on time or left on time. I even had the pleasure of sitting on the Vegas tarmac for 45mins waiting for a gate to clear, due to the flight being late.
Spirit is the American version of RyanAir.
sunduckz@reddit
I mean…. I had the exact same experience you describe but on southwest and jet blue. Vegas too.
tegernseer_spezial@reddit
There are many things we have to criticise about Ryanair. But punctuality isn’t one of them.
AngryScottish@reddit
Fair. RyanAir is still, to this day of 1000s of flights, the first and only time I felt the seatbelt digging into me on landing due to the pilots slamming on the brakes and reverse thrusters because they overshot the runway by a fair amount.
Chaxterium@reddit
This is incredibly petty of me and I apologize but it's Ryanair. Not RyanAir.
Small-Policy-3859@reddit
Funny how that's literally all their landings.
boobooaboo@reddit
The don’t fly spirit
PM_ME_SAD_STUFF_PLZ@reddit
I mean if we're sharing anecdotes, I only ever had one spirit flight delayed--I've had far more American flights delayed-- despite flying spirit relatively frequently for a few years.
I don't think there's an airline that I've flown on which hasn't had this happen. I fly delta frequently now and I've had this happen twice in the last year, and twice waiting for a takeoff slot because the flight was late coming in.
BoostsbyMercy@reddit
Also anecdotally, American is the only airline that my friends, family, and I fly that has routinely stranded people and straight-up refused to communicate. I have one particular family member that flies American for work (and personal travel) multiple times a year (at least 15-20) and I can count on one hand the amount of times she's made it back within twelve hours of the original ETA. Every time one of us flies Spirit it's generally smooth sailing on their end, minus weather delays which isn't their fault.
PM_ME_SAD_STUFF_PLZ@reddit
Now that you mention it I'm pretty that one Spirit delay was weather related as well.
DashTrash21@reddit
Waiting for a gate in Vegas is a tale of as time, not really a Spirit issue.
Traquer@reddit
Zero crashes though, and one of the most on-time airlines if memory serves. I've always had good experiences. Aside from the rock hard seats
tempestokapi@reddit
Honestly I found the headrest on my last Spirit flight to be softer than the one on Delta. Though it wasn’t the same plane model so maybe that’s why.
Spirit going away would be disappointing for me.
Traquer@reddit
Yeah the new United plane seats are not good either. I miss the old ones. They made them thinner to save an inch, which adds up to row at the end. Who-hoo. :(
JKKIDD231@reddit
Don’t even get me started on their customer service skills or pulling you in line to get your bag size check. Even an inch bigger and pay up ransom money,
smelly-pooper@reddit
That's a weird way to spell "mutually agreed upon fare rules".
zuniac5@reddit
Sure was a good thing that JetBlue merger got nuked, huh?
863rays@reddit
For jetBlue? Yes…
vman3241@reddit
It's debatable. The P&W groundings were a disaster and they did overpay, but they were getting planes that all of their pilots could fly and vise versa for the Spirit pilots.
I_am_Mun_C@reddit
It would have taken years for workgroup JCBAs, SLIs, combined training materials, and product retrofits to be implemented. At this point in time, a successful merger wouldn’t have accomplished anything. A JetBlue pilot can’t just hop in an A320 and go.
Hell, after the American / US Airways merger was legally finalized, it took something like 5.5 years before full crew integration was resolved. As an example certain flight attendants could only work on certain tail #’s and the inefficiencies cost American significantly.
facw00@reddit
JetBlue probably shouldn't have tried to enter into an anticompetitive alliance with American at the same time it was trying to tell the government that merging with Spirit wouldn't be at all anticompetitive.
YOURE_GONNA_HATE_ME@reddit
Yeah just what JetBlue needed, a dumpster fire on their already sinking ship.
zuniac5@reddit
Is it going to matter? They’re getting bought out anyway, just depends on whose name they’re writing on the door.
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KennyGaming@reddit
“Safe” is such an obscure word to describe this
Shootforthestars24@reddit
Should’ve merged with frontier
Whisky-354@reddit
Here's the thing though why was this leaked? Why didn't Spirit flatly deny it instead of saying they won't comment?
Personally I suspect they're super close to the brink - but this was leaked for leverage in the bankruptcy court or as leverage for a merger. It was in the news earlier in the week that Frontier want to take another bite at the apple.
Bulky-Succotash4734@reddit
15 Spirit aircraft parked remotely in FLL. The end is near.
BeefPoet@reddit
What, the wafflehouse of the skies is going under. Shocked I say.
Pheighthe@reddit
This is Valujet erasure.
ekkidee@reddit
Waffle House rocks on a Sunday morning after a long night.
Thorn_Ike@reddit
the situation is pretty dire but i would say they’ve been saying spirit is going to go under every week since last december practically
NewHope13@reddit
I’ve always loved flying Spirit from SNA to LAS. Will be sad to see them go, and see prices rise.
us1549@reddit (OP)
Southwest will be happy to take you between those city pairs now
Retro_Rock-It@reddit
For 4x the price
NewHope13@reddit
For a pretty penny!
YoungEngineer_7215@reddit
Why can’t it be Frontier? I don’t mind Spirit honestly
t-poke@reddit
I will always remember them for their MILF and Muff Diving sale.
SharpLocal1235@reddit
its a shame the merger with jet blue was blocked. ironically, the big 3 got stronger as a result
MadBrown@reddit
"We'll see!"
Substantial_Point_57@reddit
That’s a lot of A320/321s maybe another airline can pick up?
WJKramer@reddit
I think whats left is just leased.
MSPCSchertzer@reddit
Very sad if true. Flew NYC to IAH for $28 round trip during 2020. I always choose them because they are always the cheapest.
WJKramer@reddit
And thats why lol.
Possible-Magazine23@reddit
What does it even mean by liquidate？Like sell to another company? They can't just liquidate an airline easily.
WJKramer@reddit
They go bye bye and the creditors repo it all.
POGsarehatedbyGod@reddit
Well, bye
BarveyDanger@reddit
Sure. I’ll believe it when I see it
RevolutionaryAge47@reddit
I reserve this level of anger for when I fly Ryan Air.
JKKIDD231@reddit
Screw Spirit. Worst airline to exist.
penisthightrap_@reddit
Not true. Frontier is way worse even though they occupy the same market
Eeebs-HI@reddit
Soon it will be just a spirit of its former self...
monorail_pilot@reddit
The VCV flights make a lot of sense now.
flynryan692@reddit
They’re just lease returns that were announced a month or two ago.
Spiritual_Ad5511@reddit
Correction- not lease returns but they are aircraft sales that were finalized last year that are just now being delivered. 20 older A320s.
Has zero correlation or connection to Spirit potential (or lack of) liquidation.
Ok_Excitement725@reddit
Makes sense. But also that is a lot of airplanes all going to the same place at the same time from multiple airports 24-48 hours before a potential liquidation event. I could be wrong, but weren't almost all the lease returns already sitting in storage at Goodyear?
flynryan692@reddit
A lot of lease returns were at GYR because they were all "gliders", they had the engines removed for the Pratt problem. They flew a bunch of the NEO's to MZJ in the fall and a few A321neo's to DHN. Only a few were flown to GYR back then. These movements are A320ceo's not getting the cabin retro fit. There was also another 320neo that went to GYR today with 3 more to follow soon. The lessor picks the return location, and they all want different places for different reasons. These A320ceos were requested in VCV so that's where they went.
us1549@reddit (OP)
"lease returns"
adjust_your_set@reddit
They discharged a bunch of leases in their bankruptcy.
Ok_Excitement725@reddit
Wow. That doesn't look good at all. I assume these are not the pre-planned retirements. Kinda looks like repositioning to storage for a possible shutdown
Spiritual_Ad5511@reddit
Sources have said this for the past year. An article has come out every month with the same headline. The Air Current reported Spirit wouldn't make payroll at the beginning of the year, yet its still around.
I'll believe it when it happens.
Clipper759@reddit
I flew them twice. BWI-MSY and AUS-MSY (back when MSY was a genuine focus city for them with 20+ nonstop routes) and I didn’t have a terrible experience because I knew what to expect going in. I only paid for a window seat, only had a personal item with me, and I brought a drink on board, etc. I never actively looked to fly with them again, though. Overall I probably just wasn’t their target customer. While I’m not sad to see the name go away, if this happens, it’s never good seeing a lot of people lose their jobs.
tomahawkat@reddit
Serious question, does this mean I shouldn’t get on my flight to Cartagena on Sunday? Will I get refunded? I’m guessing no to both.
Wpgwatch@reddit
There's always Greyhound.
ScienceMechEng_Lover@reddit
Frontier is the final Frontier 💪💪💪.
landcruiser33@reddit
That's a pretty stupid thing to say considering these people have families that depend on them. Also funny because frontier has a nearly identical business model. What do they say about people that live in glass houses?
ScienceMechEng_Lover@reddit
What makes you think Frontier people live in houses? No house is big enough to contain their aura; they rule da streets.
prex10@reddit
Probably the 10th time I've read this over the last 2 years
Cbates767@reddit
Charge em $50 every pound over 35 on their liquidation
EuphoricWorker9115@reddit
Colin Jost is furiously writing
AdultContemporaneous@reddit
The past couple weeks of SNL have been absolutely off the rails in a good way, with Jack Black and Colman Domingo.
bootstrapping_lad@reddit
Spirit: Try it once because, hey, it can't really be that bad, right? Oh, I see.
frickin_darn@reddit
Oh no
Anyways