President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would consider buying Spirit Airlines in trouble, “if we manage to buy them at the right price.” "Spirit is an airline that had any problems," Trump said. "They have good planes, good assets, and erstwhile the price of oil falls, we will sale it at a profit". The president did not specify what the acquisition of Spirit Airlines could look like.
However, this luxury-deprived airline has been kept alive for years and even an injection of national cash may not save her. The government's ability to acquisition airlines seemed new, but the administration had already considered A unique option to save 1 carrier that is in trouble.
Administration conducts “very advanced talks” on Federal rescue package for a struggling low-cost airline, said Marshall Huebner, Spirit's lawyer, during a Thursday bankruptcy hearing. Although he did not give details of the package, it could amount to $500 million, reported a CNN origin acquainted with the discussion.
However, Trump's Thursday statements indicate that he is considering going 1 step further and possibly buying airlines by the government. The government considered "helping them, which means giving them financial assistance or buying them out, just buying them out," Trump told reporters on Thursday evening.
In consequence to a request for clarification, the White home criticized the Biden administration for blocking the proposed merger of Spirit and JetBlue Airways in 2022.
"Spirit Airlines would have a much more unchangeable financial position if Biden's administration had not inadvertently blocked the merger of JetBlue airlines," said White home spokesperson Kush Desai in a statement. "Trump administration continues to monitor the situation and overall condition of the American aviation industry".
Spirit did not mention to the thought of taking over the company by the national government either. "We are grateful for president Trump's support, and we look forward to continuing to work with him and his administration to find a solution that will defend thousands of jobs, save and increase competition and aid guarantee that the Americans proceed to have access to affordable ticket prices," said Spirit CEO Dave Davis in a statement.
Spirit late warned that he could be forced to close down due to the higher prices of aviation fuel caused by the Iran War. The airline has been unprofitable since the decline in the number of travel during the COVID-19 pandemic and twice declared bankruptcy, most late in August 2025 .
Some members of Congress, as well as presidents and analysts of airlines, claim that even a more limited rescue package would be a terrible idea. Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, as well as Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren expressed their concern. Concerns arise from the fact that the government is wasting taxpayers' money on a solution that will not save airlines in the long term. Even the transport secretary at Trump's administration Sean Duffy expressed doubts about the rescue plan on Tuesday.
"We do not want to invest good money in bad, and Spirit has already invested quite a few money, and they have not found a way to accomplish profitability," he said. Reuters agency. “Should we simply prevent the inevitable and then exploit it?”
Spirit is waiting for serious turbulence
Over the years Spirit was able to attract customers and fill aircraft with his ultralow ticket prices. However, the COVID-19 pandemic practically paralysed air traffic and all airlines suffered massive losses, remaining only thanks to the aid of a national rescue package for the full industry.
Although Spirit survived, he never truly recovered from the pandemic. Even erstwhile request for travel has rebounded, most low-cost carriers inactive suffered losses. Passengers were willing to pay a small more for places with more space on their feet or another amenities than to opt for occasional prices.
Airlines operate with very low profit margins, especially those that follow the business model Spirit. They bear advanced operating costs, specified as buying very costly aircraft and dealing with variable prices: for example, the price of aviation fuel increased twice this year due to the Iran War.
"It was clear that the Spirit business model had basic flaws and the airline was incapable to last (even before the sharp emergence in fuel prices caused by the war)," said United CEO Scott Kirby on Wednesday.
Larger airlines with a larger budget besides have their own versions of the Spirit low-cost model. The United, American, and Delta lines offer "basic economical class" tickets without unnecessary additions, which takes Spirit advantage. Kirby noted that United had late seen profits increase despite rising fuel prices.
"I don't think this crisis (fuel price) is large adequate to origin the request to rescue airlines," he said.
Spirit had previously attempted to find a fusion partner to stay on the surface – first Frontier, who was outbid by JetBlue in 2022. However, the $3.7 billion JetBlue deal remained blocked by a national court in January 2024 due to violations of antitrust rules.
In February, Spirit announced an agreement with creditors that would let him to exit his last bankruptcy with little debt and proceed his business. 3 days later, however, the war in Iran broke out and fuel prices began to emergence rapidly. In 2 weeks, Spirit one more time warned that he was threatened with closure.
Spirit's lawyer, Huebner, argued in court on Thursday that a national aid package would enable airlines to get back on their feet by restructuring debt and selling aircraft and another assets "Spirit was ready to act and ready to go to the surface," he said about plans to reorganize airlines. "He was in large combat form before the events of the last fewer weeks".
Steven McLean, Spirit's shareholder, disagreed. During his Thursday hearing, he questioned the plans to reorganise Spirit and stated that fuel prices were "just a tiny cut of the whole". "There are more serious problems with this plan than just fuel prices," he said.
