{"id":254949,"date":"2026-05-02T03:55:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T03:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/254949\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T03:55:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T03:55:11","slug":"trump-says-a-spirit-bailout-still-is-possible-as-doubts-about-the-airlines-survival-mount-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/254949\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump says a Spirit bailout still is possible as doubts about the airline’s survival mount"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration delivered a \u201cfinal proposal\u201d to Spirit Airlines while continuing to weigh a taxpayer-funded takeover<\/a> that might keep the budget carrier from going under during mired in bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in less than two years. <\/p>\n

The president did not provide details but said an announcement could come later Friday or Saturday. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at it. If we could do it, we\u2019ll do it. But only if it\u2019s a good deal,\u201d he said earlier Friday, speaking to reporters before departing the White House for Florida.<\/p>\n

The possibility of a bailout first emerged publicly last week, when Trump floated the idea<\/a> of the U.S. government offering Spirit a financial lifeline to help keep it from going out of business. Separately, a lawyer for the airline told a U.S. Bankruptcy Court that Spirit was in advanced talks with the government about a financing package.<\/p>\n

The president suggested the government would be able to resell the airline known for its bright yellow planes and \u201cno frills\u201d service for a profit once oil prices<\/a> driven up by the Iran war<\/a> come down. <\/p>\n

\"NextFILE – A Spirit Airlines 319 Airbus approaches Manchester Boston Regional Airport for a landing, June 2, 2023, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo\/Charles Krupa, File)<\/p>\n

Photo: <\/p>\n

Lawmakers from both parties and some Trump administration officials have criticized using taxpayer funds to keep the ultra-low cost airline afloat. Speculation around Spirit\u2019s future has grown with every day that passes without a resolution and its operating expenses and debts mount. <\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Spirit, headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida, declined to comment on ongoing discussions Friday and said \u201cSpirit is operating as usual.\u201d <\/p>\n

Although travelers still could book flights on the airline\u2019s website Friday evening, customers flooded Spirit\u2019s X account with questions about upcoming flights and demands for refunds. Some U.S. airlines say they would step in to support Spirit customers if the airline goes under.<\/p>\n

American Airlines said in a statement that it was capping main cabin fares for flights on Spirit routes\u2004where American also\u2004offers nonstop service. Budget carrier Frontier said in an X post that it was \u201cready to support customers who may be impacted if Spirit Airlines ceases operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump framed the possible federal intervention as an effort to preserve jobs but stressed that any deal must benefit the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can help them, we will,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we have to come first.\u201d<\/p>\n

The size and terms of the deal have not been shared publicly. The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, both reported an amount of $500 million that would give the government an option to acquire a sizable stake in the airline.<\/p>\n

Supporters of a rescue \u2014 including labor unions representing Spirit\u2019s pilots, flight attendants and ramp workers \u2014 say a collapse would put thousands of Americans out of work and hurt consumers by reducing airline competition and increasing airfares. About 17,000 jobs could be impacted, according to Spirit lawyer Marshall Huebner.<\/p>\n

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said Friday in a post on X that if Trump wanted to help the airline, \u201cit\u2019s in his hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryday Americans will hurt,\u201d Nelson wrote, including consumers and the employees who stand to lose their jobs if Spirit shuts down.<\/p>\n

Miami resident Caleb Euzebe, 27, who works at an insurance company, said he flies Spirit \u201call the time\u201d and compared the carrier to \u201cthat reliable car that you have. It always gets you from point A to point B safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Euzebe, who was at Fort Lauderdale\u2013Hollywood International Airport after his Spirit flight to Houston was canceled Friday, said he supported the government stepping in if it meant saving jobs.<\/p>\n

Spirit\u2019s employees have to \u201cput food on the table, keep the lights on for their homes,\u201d he said. \u201cSo if that means that bailing them out keeps these people working, I support 100%.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spirit has struggled financially since the COVID-19 pandemic, weighed down by rising operating costs and growing debt. By the time it filed for Chapter 11 protection<\/a> in November 2024, Spirit had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020. <\/p>\n

The budget carrier sought bankruptcy protection again in August 2025<\/a>, when it reported having $8.1 billion in debts and $8.6 billion in assets, according to court filings.<\/p>\n

Shortly before, its parent company revealed in a quarterly report that it had \u201csubstantial doubt\u201d<\/a> about Spirit\u2019s ability to stay in business over the next year, citing \u201cadverse market conditions\u201d \u2014 including weak leisure domestic travel demand and ongoing \u201cuncertainties in its business operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company, Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc., struck a more optimistic tone earlier this year, saying in February it had reached a preliminary deal with creditors and expected to exit Chapter 11<\/a> in late spring or early summer. It pitched a \u201cnew Spirit,\u201d \u2014 smaller and leaner, but still focused on low fares while adding more premium seating options.<\/p>\n

Instead, the war that started days later when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran intensified the airline\u2019s cash flow problems. Rising jet fuel costs<\/a> tied to the war added pressure across the industry, and Spirit\u2019s creditors last month expressed doubts about whether it could continue operating, raising the possibility of the airline being forced to sell off assets and shut down.<\/p>\n

Gianfranco Finizio, a bankruptcy expert and partner at law firm Lowenstein Sandler, said Spirit\u2019s situation reflected an unusually turbulent stretch for the airline, shaped in part by shifting signals from Washington. <\/p>\n

He cited the Biden administration\u2019s successful 2023 lawsuit to block Spirit\u2019s merger<\/a> with JetBlue, followed by mixed messages from the Trump administration about a potential rescue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thought of there even being a bailout is unusual. It\u2019s not something that happens in every day bankruptcy practice,\u201d said Finizio, who is not involved in the airline\u2019s Chapter 11 proceedings. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a tumultuous couple of years and certainly a tumultuous couple of weeks for Spirit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Budget-conscious and leisure travelers would likely feel Spirit\u2019s absence the most \u2014 especially where the airline has a big footprint, such as Las Vegas and the Florida cities of Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.<\/p>\n

The carrier flew about 1.7 million domestic passengers in February, roughly half a million fewer than it did during the same month a year earlier, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. It has also sharply reduced its capacity<\/a>, with about half as many seats available this month than in May 2024.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Yamat reported from Las Vegas. Associated Press video journalist Daniel Kozin contributed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration delivered a \u201cfinal proposal\u201d to Spirit Airlines…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-254949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254949","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=254949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}