President Donald Trump said Tuesday he’d “love somebody to buy” financally troubled Spirit Airlines, which is struggling to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankuptcy.
The president made the remarks during a live wide-ranging CNBC interview in the context of public speculation of a possible merger between Unted Airlines and American Airlines. Trump said he did not like the idea, which American has rejected.
“I don’t mind mergers. I think I’d love somebody to buy Spirit, as an example,” Trump told interviewers on the CNBC program “Squawk Box.” “You know, Spirit’s in trouble. Maybe the federal government should help that one out.”
Trump also made a reference to 14,000 jobs being at stake at the Dania Beach-based budget ariline.
Spirit has been reported by major financial outlets as being at risk for liquidiation amid high war-driven jet fuel prices and stiff creditor objections to its proposed reorganization plan.
The airline reportedly has pitched the U.S. Government for a bailout.
The company has declined comment on the reports that it faces possible liquidation and has requested any federal aid. It had no immediate statement on the president’s reference to a buyout.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reportedly was scheduled to meet Tuesday with representatives of a discount airline trade group, of which Spirit is a member, to discuss the pressures of rising fuel prices on the nation’s budget carriers and the possibility of tax breaks.