Overview
- Spirit Airlines, which canceled all flights Saturday, has begun an orderly wind-down and told customers not to go to airports.
- Company statements tie the shutdown to jet-fuel costs that more than doubled after the Iran war began on February 28, with the CEO saying the airline needed hundreds of millions of dollars it did not have.
- A proposed $500 million U.S. rescue that would have given the government up to 90% ownership fell apart after disputes among creditors and disagreements inside the White House.
- The shutdown puts about 17,000 jobs in limbo and closed the book on the carrier’s operations with flight NK1833 from Detroit to Dallas.
- The exit trims an ultra-low-cost player with roughly 2% recent U.S. market share, as Spirit’s shares fell about 75% Friday and competitors moved to help stranded travelers and add capacity.