The Airline Nobody Liked Was the One Millions of People Needed

The Airline Nobody Liked Was the One Millions of People Needed

You needed to be somewhere.

It was urgent. Too far to drive. The train wasn’t an option. Not in America where Amtrak takes eighteen hours to do what a plane does in two.

So you opened a browser and found Spirit Airlines.

Not because you wanted to. Because $89 was the difference between going and not going. Between the funeral and missing it. Between the job interview and staying home.

You booked it. You didn’t celebrate. You moved on.

That’s what Spirit was. Not an airline you chose. An airline you needed.

Early Saturday morning on May 2nd Spirit Airlines shut down.

All flights cancelled. Customer service gone. Passengers told not to go to the airport. The decision put 17,000 workers out of a job. It was the first time in 25 years a major US airline had gone out of business due to financial trouble.

The yellow planes went quiet overnight.

Flying wasn’t always something ordinary people did.

Before deregulation only 20% of Americans had ever flown. A one-way flight between New York and Los Angeles cost the equivalent of around $775 today.

The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 changed that. Fares fell. Routes expanded. Budget carriers formed. Airfares adjusted for inflation fell 44.9% after deregulation. The total number of passengers flying annually more than doubled.

Flying became something anyone could do.

Spirit pushed that further than almost anyone. Bare bones. Fees for everything. Seats that didn’t recline.

But you got there.

Nobody liked Spirit. That was almost the point.

“You do not have to fly a small carrier in order to benefit from its presence, because they will bring down the big guys’ fares,” said William McGee, a senior fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project. Without Spirit flying those routes, he predicted that “everyone will be paying more.”

That’s already happening.

Prices on former Spirit routes are up about 14% on average in the days since the shutdown. Historical data shows average fares rise 23% on routes when Spirit exits a market.

The $89 fare is gone. The people who needed it most are doing the math again.

The official reason is fuel prices. Soaring costs driven by the war in Iran was the final straw.

That’s true as far as it goes.

But Spirit had been bleeding for years. Lost more than $2.5 billion since 2020. Filed for bankruptcy twice. Tried to merge with JetBlue. The Justice Department blocked it. Tried to secure a $500 million government bailout last week. The bondholders said no.

The fuel price was the final push. The cliff was already there.

And while all of that was happening the United States still didn’t build the trains.

There was a Spirit captain named Jon Jackson who was supposed to fly his retirement flight on Saturday. Instead Spirit shut down in the night and he flew home on Southwest as a passenger. Southwest organized a water cannon salute when the aircraft landed. He walked off the jet bridge to applause. “With Spirit going down, this is kind of a sad day,” he said.

Thirty years of flying. No sendoff.

Budget airlines like Frontier, Avelo, Breeze and Allegiant are expected to expand into Spirit’s former markets. But meaningful expansion is unlikely before summer 2026. A more realistic timeline is three to six months.

Three to six months is a long time when you needed to be somewhere.

Flying became ordinary because someone made it affordable.

When the affordable option disappears it stops being ordinary.

It becomes what it used to be.

Colt Avery is a contributing writer at Aktiego. The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent the editorial position of Aktiego.com.

Sources

Spirit Airlines Cancels All Flights | CNN Business

Spirit Airlines’ Final Hours | CNBC

Spirit Airlines Ceases Operations | NPR

Spirit Airlines Shutdown Driving Up Ticket Prices | Click2Houston

Spirit Airlines Is Gone: What It Means for Flight Prices | Travel Pirates

What Travelers Should Know | TIME

What Does Spirit Airlines’ Shutdown Mean for Travelers | CBS News

Airline Deregulation | Econlib

Airline Deregulation Act Overview | FindLaw

Editorial Disclosure

This article was prompted by the shutdown of Spirit Airlines on May 2, 2026, and expanded into a broader argument about the democratization of air travel and what its reversal means for working Americans. No financial relationships exist with any airline or aviation company mentioned. Market data is drawn from CNN, CNBC, NPR, Click2Houston, Travel Pirates, TIME, CBS News, Econlib, and FindLaw. Commentary reflects the author’s own assessment. The information provided on this website is for informational and educational purposes only. Our content is derived strictly from verified online sources to ensure accuracy and objectivity. This analysis does not constitute financial, investment, or professional advice. Readers are encouraged to consult with qualified professionals before making decisions based on this information. For more information, please see our full DISCLAIMER.

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