The union that represents flight attendants at the embattled low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines has moved to reassure worried crew members after a week of speculation that the Florida-based company was on the verge of liquidation, which culminated in reports that bosses were begging the Trump administration for a multi-million-dollar bailout.
Spirit went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than a year in August 2025, after it quickly burned through the cash it acquired during a pre-packaged bankruptcy process in late 2024.
This second Chapter 11 process has had its highs and lows, with previous reports suggesting the airline was on the verge of shutting down before it was able to strike deals with creditors to keep its operations running.
As recently as February, chief executive Dave Davis announced that a major deal had been struck with creditors that could allow Spirit to emerge from Chapter 11 as early as this Spring.
Since then, however, market conditions have significantly worsened – in particular, surging jet fuel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East, which has choked the supply of oil from the Persian Gulf, leading to price rises around the world.
The cost of jet fuel had allegedly become such a big issue for Spirit that earlier this week, reports started to emerge that the airline could be days away from liquidation.
Even the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), which represents Spirit crew members, admitted earlier this week that “conditions have worsened” and that the effort to emerge from bankruptcy “has come under stress at the worst possible time.”
Nonetheless, more recent communications from the union have sought to give flight attendants some semblance of confidence that Spirit is not about to be suddenly grounded.
“There are multiple media outlets pushing the narrative that Spirit is going to ‘liquidate by the end of the week.’ That is simply not supported by what is actually happening in court,” the union told flight attendants on Friday.
“Clearly a slow news week and the media loves to jump on the clickbait news bandwagon,” the memo added.
“What we are in right now is an active and contested phase of the Chapter 11 process. There are objections, negotiations, and real financial pressures being worked through, none of that is unusual at this stage, even if it’s uncomfortable to watch play out publicly. It’s our lives not just a business.”
In a seperate email sent to some Spirit flight attendants on Friday, the union said: “We all know where our company is fighting for its survival right now. But what you’re seeing in the news is not the full picture. And lately, the negatives has been drowning out the very real positives that have been helping our case to continue operating.”
Spirit’s survival strategy is built on the principle that it can shrink itself back to profitability by slashing routes that don’t make money, dumping planes that are no longer needed, and selling off airport gates, buildings, and equipment.
Negotiations with creditors to secure ongoing funding during this process were, however, built on the assumption that fuel prices would not rise as dramatically as they have.
Spirit now faces a two-pronged assault on its business. First, the immediate impact of paying significantly more for fuel, and second, the impact that rising airfares caused by the jet fuel crisis, are having on travel demand, especially among the price-sensitive customers that the airline appeals to.
As first reported by the Air Current, the airline is now said to be seeking a bailout from the Trump administration due to the effects that jet fuel prices are having on its business.
Spirit has, however, declined to comment on this speculation.
Sarah never saw a company that wasn’t doing just fine.