ORLANDO, Fla. — People in Central Florida are scrambling to come up with alternate plans after Spirit Airlines closed operations abruptly over the weekend.
There are 160 employees impacted who were based in Orlando. As far as passengers go, Spirit accounted for 9% of all flights at Orlando International Airport.
In March alone, nearly half a million people flew on Spirit Airlines.
The short-term impacts are noticeable as people try to rebook, but long-term, there are a few ways travelers might see this play out.
For 33 years, Spirit Airlines offered flights in and out of Orlando.
“Cause it was the cheapest and most affordable one, especially for a few days,” said Elvin Colon, from Connecticut.
Colon’s trip with friends hit turbulence long after they landed in Orlando.
“I was really stressed out trying to rebook everything,” Colon said.
Spirit Airlines stated it will issue automatic refunds, but many customers have not seen that money yet.
“I rebooked another flight on Frontier yesterday and it is very expensive because it is very close, so I didn’t get money back from Spirit and paid another flight on another airline to help me get to Dallas,” said Xia Sui, from China.
Uncertainty is in the air, with empty desks, blank kiosks and notices posted at the airport.
“Everybody sort of looks for what is the one issue, well in reality, it is how a bunch of issues built up over time,” said Blaise Waguespack, a marketing professor from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Waguespack said post 9/11, mergers of major carriers were common, but a major airline shutting down overnight is almost unheard of.
“Overall, because at least here in Florida, we have a more competitive market, there will still be options to be found; you may need to look harder for them,” Waguespack said.
He suggests looking at nearby airports like Sanford for other budget airline deals, and within a few months, people could see other airlines make moves to capitalize on the closure.
“Would Breeze look at this as an opportunity, wait, let’s look at our routes, look at our structure, see if there is one, we have been thinking but now with Spirit gone, let’s take a shot at this route,” Waguespack said.