Spirit Airlines is on the verge of a shutdown as last-minute bailout talks with the federal government fell apart on Friday, and the airline is now expected to cease operations at 3:00 am on Saturday, May 2.
The government was in talks with three groups of Spirit creditors on Friday, but the bondholders of the company did not agree to the proposal, and now we’re counting the hours toward the grounding of the airline.
This doesn’t come unexpected as the airline has been reeling from it bad financial position for years and now it appears the chickens are coming home to roost.
One self proclaimed Spirit Employee commented publicly that “as a Spirit Flight Attendant, the AFA told us in official communications that Spirit is “permanently cease operations”.
You can follow the last operational Spirit Airlines flights on popular flight tracking websites such as Flightradar24:
Spirit Airlines itself is tight-lipped about everything, and there are still live ticket sales on the Spirit websites, something I would expressively advise against if your money is dear to you.
Those passengers who have purchased Spirit tickets and paid by credit card could file a chargeback in the case of an official grounding, but you’ll still be in the position of having to reach your final destination and purchase new tickets with another carrier on your own dime. Especially for those passengers who are mid trip this will prove to be somewhat of a challenge.
Any kind of travel credits would be void without replacement, which is the unfortunate reality of any airline bankruptcy that results in a final grounding.
CBS reports that the White House presented a final proposal to creditors, but no agreement was reached:
But it’s not only customers that are caught up in this, but about 10,000 Spirit employees would also be directly impacted, and even more that are tied to Spirit operations in the form of suppliers.
Spirit was under a lot of pressure recently, not only by bad finances but also by the rising cost of fuel, which might have proven to be the last nail in the coffin for the ‘yellow bird.”
Conclusion
Spirit Airlines is preparing for a permanent grounding after its creditors and the federal government were unable to reach an agreement, and it’s now widely expected that the carrier will shut down in the early morning hours of Saturday.
If you’re currently mid-trip or have an immediate trip coming up, I’d recommend looking at alternative travel arrangements to ensure you still get a reasonable price before everything melts down.
Should the worst happen and Spirit does ultimately shut down, you will need to contact your credit card company and request a chargeback for Spirit purchases for which you have not received services.
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