Spirit’s restructuring plan assumed jet fuel costs of about US$2.24 a gallon in 2026 and US$2.14 in 2027, but prices had climbed to around US$4.51 a gallon by the end of April, leaving the carrier unable to survive without fresh financing.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Reuters he had tried to get many airlines to buy Spirit but found no takers. “What would someone buy?” Duffy asked. “If no one else wants to buy them, why would we buy them?”
A creditor close to the deal said: “The Trump administration made an extraordinary effort to try and save Spirit, but you can’t breathe life into a corpse. Given that, the company should make its intentions clear for the sake of its customers and employees.”
Spirit’s volatile over-the-counter stock plunged 25 per cent on Friday. Shares of rival Frontier Airlines rose 10 per cent, while JetBlue Airways gained 4 per cent.
Spirit had reached a deal with its lenders that would have helped it emerge from its second bankruptcy by late spring or early summer. But those plans derailed after the war triggered a spike in jet fuel prices, upending Spirit’s cost projections and complicating its bankruptcy exit.
Spirit has 4,119 domestic flights scheduled between May 1 and May 15, offering 809,638 seats, according to the latest data from Cirium.
Last month Trump said his administration was looking to buy the embattled carrier at the “right price”.
Sources said that the administration had proposed US$500 million in financing in exchange for warrants equivalent to 90 per cent of Spirit’s equity.
There had been disagreements inside the Trump administration over whether and how to fund the bailout, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
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