Spirit Airlines shut down its business operations internationally on May 2 after the air travel monopoly failed to secure a government bailout to keep the company afloat. Negotiations for a $500 million buyout put forward by the Trump administration collapsed when creditors and bondholders rejected the terms, preferring the liquidation of the firm over the proposed deal. The Trump administration had sought a 90% share in the company in the failed deal.
With the shut down, Spirit Air Lines laid off 17,000 pilots, flight attendants, and other workers and stranded thousands of passengers. Other airline monopolists colluded to organize “rescue” flights, snatching business from stranded passengers to resume travel.
In response to the mass layoffs, former Spirit Airlines employees filed a class-action lawsuit on 05/12 against the company in the Southern District of New York, alleging the airline laid off workers without the legally-required advance notice and that it is withholding final paychecks and pay for unused benefits.
The sharp rise in fuel costs over the past few months, caused by the US imperialist war of aggression against Iran, had a particularly strong impact on the profit margins of the company, according to statements from Spirit. Previously, the firm suffered from financial strain, with multiple bankruptcy filings in the years leading up to the shut down.
According to the monopoly media outlet CBS News, a forecast from Deutsche Bank predicts US passenger airlines’ annual fuel bill increasing by $24 billion compared to what was forecast prior to the start of the US imperialist war against Iran. They predict that airlines profits will decrease by $8.4 billion compared to prior projections.
Spirit will be forced to sell its fleet of 28 owned aircraft and 18 spare engines to pay back debts, and competing airlines have begun hiring former Spirit employees according to reports in monopoly media, giving many preferential job offers and fast-tracked interviews, all of which are expressions of further monopolization in the air travel industry.
The shut down of Spirit airlines coincides with disruptions internationally in the air travel industry caused by the US imperialist aggression against Iran. German airline Lufthansa announced the same week they would take measures to ensure continued service along routes where jet fuel stores had been exhausted as the airline faces $2 billion dollars in additional fuel costs.
A proposed $3.8 billion merger between Spirit Airlines and Jet Blue was abandoned in 2024 after being opposed by the Biden administration on anti-trust grounds. Hailed then as a victory by the Democratic mafia, Spirit’s demise now advances the monopolization of airlines nevertheless. Economists predict a 20% to 23% increase in air fares following Spirit’s shut down as air travel continues to be concentrated in the hands of a few monopolies.
In addition to the dramatic rise in jet fuel prices, air travel and cargo monopolies have faced repeated protests over deteriorating wages from flight attendants and pilots in recent years, who are prevented from striking by federal labor law.
Image: A Spirit Airlines plane approaches the Baltimore-Washington International Airport, 2024. Credit: Acroterion on Wikimedia Commons.
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