Spirit Airlines was once a force in the US airline industry. Its demise will reveal how powerful that influence was in recent years when air travel had already begun to move away from the low-cost path pioneered by Moya.
The airline’s closure on Saturday after years of financial problems led to the loss of 17,000 part-time and full-time jobs, and disrupted the plans of tens of thousands of travelers. But aviation experts say it’s unclear whether Spirit’s absence will have a major, long-term impact on the industry, travelers or the U.S. economy.
Airlines will likely have an easier time raising fares and many will absorb Spirit’s gates, check-in counters and other assets at airports in the New York area, Las Vegas, Ft. Lauderdale and elsewhere. But the effect may not be as big, aviation experts say, because Spirit has been downsized recently and filed for bankruptcy for the second time in two years.
“When the plug was pulled, Spirit was no longer a major player,” said Michael Boyd, an aviation consultant at Boyd Group International. “Part of the fleet was parked and sold.”
In May 2024, the airline operated 3.4 percent of all domestic flights, according to Cirium, an airline data company. It filed for bankruptcy later that year and in 2025. Before it was shut down, Spirit’s May schedule would have been just 1.1 percent of domestic flights.
The decline in the airline’s business was the main reason why many analysts and economists were confused by the Trump administration’s efforts to save Spirit, which ended up going nowhere because the government and the airline’s creditors could not reach an agreement.
Many airlines are temporarily offering discounted fares to Spirit customers. But many experts believe that the absence of the company will lead to higher costs in the long run, although how much the prices will rise is difficult to predict.
Spirit’s presence at the airport helped to lower fares, which economists have studied and received the name “Spirit effect.” Even though it’s downsized, the company has played a key role in forcing other airlines to keep fares low, some experts say.
“It’s at the low end of the market that prices start,” said Robert Mann, an airline industry consultant and former airline executive. “And it will make it easier for everyone to raise prices to that level.”
But some aviation experts say the effect could be extreme. Some flights have spare seats and can absorb more customers than Spirit serves. And many people who fly Spirit used to fly only when they got the cheapest fares, so they may choose not to fly as often now.
Fares would have gone up with or without Spirit, some analysts said. Airlines began raising fares in March to cover fuel costs caused by the Iran war and many have warned of further increases.
“It’s a hit and miss industry as unprofitable domestic capacity shrinks,” wrote William Swelbar, an aviation consultant and economist, in an email. “Fares have to go up or we will lose more airlines to bankruptcy/consolidation.”
Spirit’s slow decline in recent years has benefited other airlines, especially major carriers such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines. The cities where Spirit flew the most included Atlanta, Los Angeles, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, Newark and Miami. Those cities are home to important flights for those major airlines.
Those carriers had already found an effective way to compete against Spirit: “basic economy fares.” In 2010, American, Delta and United introduced these fares, which were cheaper than regular economy tickets but did not include things like being able to choose a seat or bring more bags on the plane. In recent years, the use of these fares has grown significantly, reducing the demand for tickets from low-cost carriers such as Spirit.
Other smaller airlines could also benefit from Spirit’s absence, notably JetBlue Airways. JetBlue was already expanding at Spirit’s home base, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, just north of Miami.
JetBlue said last month that it has added 21 nonstop flights from Fort Lauderdale in the past year, ranking it as the third largest airport behind Kennedy International in New York and Boston’s Logan International. On Saturday, after Spirit’s shutdown, JetBlue said it would add flights from Ft. Lauderdale in 11 other locations.
“It’s getting hotter on the Fort Lauderdale front,” Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue’s chief executive, said during a call with investors and analysts last month.
Spirit’s downfall may have a disproportionate impact on other regional airports. For example, it was the only airline that flies to Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pa., which is just over an hour’s drive from Pittsburgh International Airport.
Spirit also lists almost all flights to Atlantic City International Airport in New Jersey. But other growing budget carriers, such as Allegiant Air and Breeze Airways, both of which recently began flying to Atlantic City, could replace some of the airlines lost to smaller airports with Spirit’s closure.
Frontier Airlines, perhaps Spirit’s biggest competitor in the low-cost segment of the industry, will benefit, too. But it faces many of the same challenges as Moya.
“The data suggests that Frontier will win because of the route conflict with Spirit,” said Mr. Swelbar. “But that overlap is also filled with basic economy seats.”
Air may help other airlines in another way. Its sudden death made thousands of experienced airmen available, including more than 2,000 pilots and hundreds of mechanics. United Airlines this weekend began an effort to hire Spirit employees, saying it would pay close attention to their applications. Demand for pilots, mechanics and other professionals has been high for years.
But Spirit’s assets — planes, airport gates and other real estate, including New York’s LaGuardia Airport — won’t be available any time soon. Many of those assets were used as collateral for Spirit’s loans, meaning they will be liquidated through bankruptcy court proceedings, which could take time.
“It won’t happen on Monday,” said Mr. Mann, “or next month, or maybe a few months.”
