Spirit Airlines says it has nearly finished refunding customers after shuttering | US news
Spirit Airlines has almost finished reimbursing customers for flights abruptly canceled over the weekend as the company closed its doors.
The budget airline left thousands of customers and employees stranded after deciding on Saturday to shut down a business that had been struggling for years, before a surge in the price of jet fuel blew a new hole in its budget.
Spirit had scheduled about 4,000 flights through May 15, according to Reuters.
The airline has not made a profit since 2019, according to CNBC. The company has unsuccessfully attempted to restructure in recent years after two bankruptcy filings. The sharp rise in the cost of oil resulting from the US-Israeli war with Iran has dealt a mortal blow to the airline, Spirit said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, despite the Company’s best efforts, the recent significant increase in oil prices and other pressures on the business have had a significant impact on Spirit’s financial outlook,” the statement said. “With no additional financing available to the company, Spirit had no choice but to begin this liquidation.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, however, blamed the airline’s failure on Joe Biden’s administration in comments to the media Saturday. The Justice Department under Biden blocked a proposed merger that would have joined Spirit and JetBlue.
“A lot of people were saying at the time that it was a disaster and that this merger should have been allowed to happen,” Duffy said. “And that today would indicate that it’s not better for travelers, it’s not better for prices, it’s not better for competition – in fact, it’s worse.”
Duffy urged Spirit customers to stay home.
“If you have a flight scheduled with Spirit Airlines, do not show up at the airport – there will be no one here to help you,” Duffy said. “What Spirit Airlines will now do is go through an orderly liquidation process. We’ll see how that plays out over the next few days.”
Conservative critics, including Duffy, have drawn attention to comments by Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, praising the Biden administration’s blocking of the merger in 2024. Warren said at the time that the merger would have led to “fewer flights and higher fares.”
In response to criticism, Warren tweeted on
“Republicans are desperate to shift blame for higher costs hitting families,” Warren tweeted.
