Spirit Airlines, hit hard by suddenly-rising fuel costs just as it tries to climb out of its second bankruptcy, has apparently asked the federal government for emergency funding to keep flying.
The report, from several sources, comes as many analysts have suggested that Spirit could fall into liquidation as early as this week—a situation that might be brought even closer by the reports, as customers look for more secure tickets going forward or cancel existing tickets to rebook elsewhere.
There’s been no official comment from Spirit or from the Department of Transportation. However, the Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, is due to meet this week with Spirit and four other members of the Association of Value Airlines, all of whom are facing sharp losses as fuel costs rise in the wake of the war on Iran. The others are Frontier, Avelo, Allegiant and Sun Country.
Allegiant and Sun Country have just received final needed approval for their merger, which could take place as early as May 13, following both companies’ shareholder meetings on May 8th. The approval from DOT will allow them to operate as two airlines with common ownership until all matters are settled.
