“They Threw It Away”: Airline Lobby Chief Says Democrats Accelerated Spirit Airlines’ Demise

Summary:

• Airlines For America CEO Chris Sununu Blasts Democrats For Spirit’s Death Spiral

• Duffy Pledges Relief For Customers, Workers

• Spirit Airlines Is Dead, Flights Canceled

Head Of Airlines Lobbying Group Blasts Democrats For Spirit’s Death Spiral

Chris Sununu, president and CEO of Airlines for America, the lobbying group representing major U.S. passenger and cargo airlines, blasted Democrats under the Biden-Harris regime era for accelerating bankrupt Spirit Airlines’ demise after the blocked Spirit-JetBlue merger. 

This aged well!

I’ve warned for months that a @JetBlue–@SpiritAirlines merger would have led to fewer flights and higher fares.@JusticeATR and @USDOT were right to stand up for consumers and fight against runaway airline consolidation.

This is a Biden win for flyers! https://t.co/lJFGS3ucv3

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 6, 2024

“In their own BIG GOVERNMENT way, they said, no, we won’t allow [the merger] to happen! And THIS is the result! What folks warned was going to happen ultimately came to fruition, unfortunately,” Sununu told Fox News.

He continued, “The opportunity that an airline like Spirit creates for those kinds of working-class customers, if you will, they have a lot of low fares, a lot of that point-to-point stuff that those consumers really relied on, they threw it away!”

“They absolutely threw it away! They had the opportunity to make sure they could survive. They didn’t want to look at the math,” he emphasized, adding, “They didn’t want to understand the business models.”

Sununu commended President Trump for putting together a rescue deal to save the bankrupt airline. But as of Saturday morning, the liquidation process had begun, with all flights canceled.

🚨 NOW: Airlines for America President Chris Sununu EXPOSES Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg for DESTROYING lower air fares and thousands of jobs by crushing Spirit Airlines

They just harmed the working class — which socialists CLAIM to fight for!

“In their own BIG… pic.twitter.com/nssxHEXCPm

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 3, 2026

RIP Spirit 

Rest in peace Spirit Airlines pic.twitter.com/7MVmW899pI

— Not Jerome Powell (@alifarhat79) May 3, 2026

The collapse of bankrupt Spirit Airlines Now Official

After several failed attempts by the Trump administration to engineer a rescue package, including a proposed $500 million financing deal that could have left the U.S. government with control of up to 90% of the budget carrier, negotiations broke down late this week.

By Saturday morning, Spirit had begun winding down operations, with all flights canceled and the carrier entering liquidation mode.

The outcome marks the final flight for the budget airline, crushed by years of operational stress, failed merger attempts, mounting debt, and a brutal jet-fuel price shock that derailed its efforts to emerge from bankruptcy this summer.

Well… oops https://t.co/Ahv3e2M8vU

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 1, 2026

The Trump administration was willing to explore an extraordinary state-backed rescue to save nearly 7,500 jobs.

Now, however, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has announced “ACTION to bring relief to Spirit customers and its workforce.” This will include other airlines (United, Delta, JetBlue & Southwest) agreeing to cap ticket prices for Spirit customers who have been left in the lurch, reduced fares on ‘high-volume Spirit routes”, while American Airlines and United “are creating microsites for Spirit employees looking to continue a career in aviation.”

In coordination with our airline partners, we’re taking ACTION to bring relief to Spirit customers and its workforce.

From capped ticket prices for flyers who need to rebook to employees looking for job opportunities, there’s a lot of information you should be aware of.…

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) May 2, 2026

Spirit’s statement about winding down operations:

It is with great disappointment that Spirit Airlines has started winding down its global operations, effective immediately. All flights have been cancelled, and customer service is no longer available. While we are not able to help rebook your flight on another airline, we will automatically process refunds for any flights purchased through Spirit with a credit or debit card to the original form of payment. We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry for the last 33 years and had hoped to serve our Guests for many years to come.

pic.twitter.com/Wz3ilRHD2z

— Spirit Airlines (@SpiritAirlines) May 2, 2026

Polymarket odds:

US takes a stake in Spirit Airlines by May 31?

Spirit Airlines shutdown/liquidation by May 31?

Very easy money

SPIRIT AIRLINES STARTS ORDERLY WIND-DOWN OF OPERATIONS https://t.co/PAtaxmG5gv

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 2, 2026

Even as Spirit begins winding down operations, President Trump said Friday that he will “have something on Spirit today or tomorrow.”

What that means at this stage is anyone’s guess, especially with rescue talks reportedly dead and the airline already moving into full shutdown mode.