The Trump administration is nearing a rescue package for Spirit Airlines that could give the US government the option to own as much as 90% of the carrier once it emerges from bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n
The agreement, which has not yet been finalized, would offer as much as $500 million in financing in exchange for warrants to purchase up to 90% of the new entity, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the deal before it is announced. The talks are still fluid and an agreement might still not be reached. It\u2019s also unclear what stake the US might ultimately end up with.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was open to offering federal assistance to the airline. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is leading the effort for a possible government deal, the people said. There\u2019s internal disagreement about whether to proceed, according to one of the people.<\/p>\n
Lutnick was also a key player in the government\u2019s decision to take a 10% stake in Intel Corp.<\/p>\n
Earlier: Trump Wants Buyer for Spirit, Pans United-American Merger<\/p>\n
Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc.\u2019s shares jumped as much as 57% on the prospect of a government lifeline that could help it avoid a potential liquidation.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the airline declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
The Wall Street Journal first reported that the Trump administration was close to reaching a deal on Spirit. Bloomberg News previously reported that Spirit was at risk of possible liquidation due to rising jet fuel prices spurred by the US and Israeli war with Iran and that the carrier had floated the idea of the government taking a stake in the company, which has sought an emergency bailout.<\/p>\n
Scott Kirby, chief executive officer of United Airlines Holdings Inc., said Spirit\u2019s troubles stem from flaws in the ultra low-cost carrier\u2019s business model known for offering cut-rate fares while charging customers for extras, such as assigned seating and in-flight snacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problems at Spirit predate the run-up in fuel,\u201d Kirby said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Wednesday. \u201cIt was going to fail because the business model doesn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spirit had been poised to exit bankruptcy this summer after reaching an agreement with creditors on a plan to trim billions of dollars in debt and reduce the cost of its fleet. The carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2025 \u2014 the second time it did so in under a year.<\/p>\n
The carrier in the past had tried to merge with other airlines but those efforts failed to result in a deal. Before filing its first bankruptcy, the carrier agreed to be acquired by JetBlue Airways Corp., but a federal judge blocked the tie-up in 2024 on antitrust grounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpirit Airlines would be on a much firmer financial footing had the Biden administration not recklessly blocked the airline\u2019s merger with JetBlue,\u201d White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. \u201cThe Trump administration continues to monitor the situation and overall health of the U.S. aviation industry that millions of Americans rely on every day for essential travel and their livelihoods.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bloomberg News reported last year that Frontier Group Holdings Inc. and Spirit had revived talks to merge, though no deal ever emerged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Trump administration is nearing a rescue package for Spirit Airlines that could give the US government the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234473,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[558,249,251,250,114,5741,115,99,1798],"class_list":["post-242160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-business","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-latest-headlines","tag-national-news","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-transportation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}