Overview
- Spirit, which announced Saturday it was beginning an orderly wind‑down, halted operations nationwide and told customers not to go to the airport.
- Last‑minute talks for roughly a $500 million government lifeline collapsed when key bondholders balked at terms that would have given Washington a controlling stake.
- A sharp rise in jet‑fuel prices tied to the war with Iran doubled costs and wrecked a March restructuring plan Spirit had negotiated with creditors.
- Millions of ticketed travelers and about 17,000 employees now face cancellations and job loss, while American, United, JetBlue, Southwest, Frontier and others are offering limited rescue fares or capped one‑way prices.
- Customers who paid by credit or debit card can seek chargebacks for refunds, cash buyers become unsecured creditors, and analysts expect less ultra‑low‑cost competition and higher fares on routes where Spirit once set the price floor.