Poplicola

Here's Biden Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg bragging about blocking the Spirit Airlines merger with JetBlue that would have saved the airline from bankruptcy. I don't think America has ever had a more incompetent Secretary of Transportation than Mayor Pete.

We know that uncertainty is never easy. We’re here to help if Spirit Airlines’ operations are suspended and your travel plans are disrupted.

For perhaps the last time: No one can afford to cheer for Spirit’s demise. Their presence forced other carriers to lower fares for years - yes, even AA, Delta & United. What a sad end to a pioneering airline. Combined with fuel prices, we’re entering a new era of higher fares.

mcp was a mistake.

For perhaps the last time: No one can afford to cheer for Spirit’s demise. Their presence forced other carriers to lower fares for years - yes, even AA, Delta & United. What a sad end to a pioneering airline. Combined with fuel prices, we’re entering a new era of higher fares.

“The business model clearly doesn’t work, Spirit should be allowed to fail.” The problem is this is bigger than Spirit. The question now should be: Why doesn’t the business model work here while low-cost carriers flourish in Europe & Asia? Is there something fundamentally different about American travelers & what they want? Maybe, but not enough. Did US airlines do it worse? Also no, IMO. There are lots of factors (rising costs far beyond jet fuel being a big one) but one differentiator here is entrenched major US airlines have been permitted to dominate hub after hub & loyalty programs (read as: credit card revenue) that dwarf what exists in every other country, allowing big airlines to offset otherwise unprofitable flying. You need scale to truly compete in the airline industry. Major carriers were able to bury Spirit with that scale. There’s a reason why new upstarts like Breeze & Avelo really only fly between second-, third- and fourth-tier cities… As more airlines fail or merge, the big get bigger. This feels like a turning point. It’s only going to get worse. And while the lower cost end of the market vanishes, everyone else is moving upmarket: chasing “premium” travel at higher fares … yet retaining the even higher nickel-and-dime fees you all hate. This isn’t just about Spirit. We’re returning to that so-called “Golden Age of Air Travel” … and I’m not sure consumers are going to like it.