Perhaps it’s cliché to say there’s never a dull moment in the airline industry, but that’s probably the most apt way to describe the past two weeks. And at the center of the news has been Spirit Airlines. Skift learned earlier this week that Spirit is in the process of finalizing a deal with the Trump administration to save it from liquidation.
As part of the agreement, the U.S. government would give Spirit Airlines a $500 million loan in exchange for warrants on a significant stake in the carrier. The senior financing package would put the government ahead of other bondholders.
President Donald Trump has even signaled that he is interested in having the U.S. buy Spirit and then sell it for a profit once the price of oil falls.
The government has done bailouts in the past, but those have been industry-wide. The federal government gave airlines a $15 billion bailout after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it bailed out the banking and auto industries during the Great Recession, and the government gave airlines a $54 billion rescue package during the height of the pandemic.
A bailout for a single carrier would be an unprecedented move for the government. But the second Trump administration has taken a different approach to American capitalism, with government stakes in Intel and USA Rare Earth. However, neither of those companies are in bankruptcy.
Could other airlines pitch the Trump administration for bailouts, given surging fuel prices? That remains to be seen.
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EDITOR’S PICK
Trump Says He Wants the U.S. to Buy Spirit: Where Things Stand on the Bailout
by Meghna Maharishi
April 24, 2026
As the terms of a bailout for Spirit are being finalized, President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was interested in the U.S. buying the airline and selling it for a profit once oil prices drop.
Southwest Holds Off on Changing Profit Outlook, Says It ‘Would Not Be Productive’
by Meghna Maharishi
April 22, 2026
Major U.S. airlines are each responding differently to surging fuel costs, with some like Southwest and Delta opting not to change their profit outlooks for the year. United and Alaska, on the other hand, have either revised or pulled back guidance.
SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK
In this video, Skift’s Wil Slickers explains how Spirit Airlines went from being one of the most profitable ultra-low-cost carriers in the U.S. to filing for bankruptcy twice in under two years. Skift’s timeline traces the collapse through pandemic recovery setbacks, failed merger attempts with Frontier and JetBlue, thousands of furloughs, and a business model that struggled to adapt.
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