After months of dire warnings that Spirit Airlines was teetering on the brink, the Wall Street Journal reported today, in an article labeled an “exclusive,” that, as the headline puts it, “Spirit Airlines Prepares to Shut Down as Rescue Deal Falls Apart.”
The troubled discount carrier, which has been in chapter 11 for months, had been hoping to secure a government bailout from the Trump administration, but that possibility appears to have vanished.
“Spirit is currently expected to cease operations around 3 a.m. ET Saturday,” according to the Journal.
Though no executives of the airline confirmed Spirit’s demise to the newspaper, all signs seem to suggest the end is near.
What do travelers need to know and do? Here’s some advice.
Don’t buy airfare from Spirit but do buy tickets ASAP if you’re going to one of the carrier’s gateways.
Lately we’ve been advising travelers to purchase tickets sooner rather than later for any flights planned for the next 6 to 8 months due to the surging cost of jet fuel. That is pushing up ticket prices on a near-daily basis. In fact, airfares are currently about 15% more expensive than a year ago at this time.
Right now, Spirit is still posting airfares for a reasonable price. I just found a handful of the carrier’s flights between Chicago and New York City, and they were the cheapest on the market.
That availability and those low prices are currently keeping other carriers in check, price-wise. If and when Spirit announces its demise, those prices are going to jump.
Spirit serves some 90 gateways in the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The airline’s key hubs are Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Detroit (DTW), Orlando (MCO), Las Vegas (LAS), Atlantic City (ACY), Atlanta (ATL), Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX), Newark (EWR), and Chicago (ORD).
So if you’re planning to fly to or from any of those places, I’d pull the trigger on a ticket soon.
Do I even need to tell you not to buy a ticket on Spirit at this point? I didn’t think so.
Getting your money back if your Spirit flight is canceled
There’s nothing you can do right now about getting your money back for Spirit tickets you’ve booked for an upcoming flight.
According to the Department of Transportation’s refund rules, a flight has to be canceled before you can start the refund process. Passengers who preemptively cancel run the risk of losing their investment.
But if and when Spirit bites the dust, you should move quickly to start the refund process because in situations where a carrier in bankruptcy stops operations, consumers are usually last in line, after banks and other lenders, when it comes to getting money back.
Best scenario: You booked with a credit card and can therefore take advantage of the credit card’s protections.
First, write an email to the airline asking for a refund, so you can show your credit card company that you’ve done so. Make sure to keep track of that email and any responses.
Then start the refund process with your credit card company. You’ll usually have 120 days from the date of the last leg of your planned flights to request your money back.
Alas, debit cards do not carry these same protections.
You may also be covered if you bought travel insurance.
Getting back money for other expenses on a canceled trip
Unless you prepaid for your hotel room, that should be fully refundable. Ditto for car rentals.
Do check to see if there’s a date by which you must cancel, though, in order to receive a refund.
Getting money back on tours and cruises could be trickier, though you may still be able to buy insurance to cover those, depending on the original date of purchase.
Once Spirit officially announces it has stopped operations, insurance won’t be offered, so this is a move-fast strategy.
There’s a possibility that the credit card you used could have automatic travel insurance with it, providing another layer of protection. Check.
I have to say that I’m disappointed, if not surprised, that it doesn’t look like the Trump administration will throw a lifeline to Spirit. The monopolization of airlines in the United States has been very bad for consumers in myriad ways.
With Spirit gone, flyers will have even fewer choices—and the airlines that remain will have even greater power.
