Spirit closure pushes affordable travel further out of reach | Opinion

Spirit Airlines saved my life, more times than I can count.

I don’t mean in a perilous, gravity-defying way reminiscent of the latest Marvel film, but in terms of expanding my dreams. From the multiple trips to Disney World every spring break during childhood with my family, to simply serving as a means of transportation for a few transformative moments that defined my early adulthood, the airline holds some of my greatest memories. 

In reflecting on these memories, given the recent news of its dismantling May 2, I realized just how crucial budget-friendly airlines are to the average American. Despite the constant criticism of airlines like Spirit, they play a vital role in the infrastructure of society by providing affordable access to travel for those of us who are not the wealthy few. In its absence, I now wonder, what does this mean for the rest of us?

As a child, I fondly remember the excitement and wonder of arriving at the Orlando airport and seeing all the Disney merchandise and advertisements. I also remember that same excitement with a smidge of my mother’s parental pride in watching me partake in the luxury of travel that wasn’t afforded to her when she was young. 

She told me years later that it was important for her to give me those experiences so that, by the time my dreams matched my reality, I wouldn’t have imposter syndrome. Those formative experiences truly shaped the way I view travel, class and access.

If affordable airlines like Spirit didn’t exist, I would likely not have gotten those opportunities.

Broke and burnt out, Spirit Airlines allowed me to take flight

Now that such a scenario is the reality, I worry that the effects will be far more grave than we realize, especially when it comes to working-class people whose access to luxuries like vacations can hinge on changes in the price of travel.

In graduate school, I worked a litany of jobs for quick and steady cash. I was a graduate assistant, surviving on $750 every two weeks while also working as an Uber driver. By the time of the final semester of my graduate program at Michigan State University, I was emotionally and mentally burnt out.

With only a few dollars to spare and the remnants of a previous refund check, I decided to book a cheap Spirit Airlines ticket to Houston to see my college bestie and couch surf at her home for spring break. We spent the week at the Houston rodeo, she took me to Beyoncé’s childhood home, and those invaluable memories remain with me to this day. It might not sound glamorous to you, but for a broke graduate student with nothing to my name but limited funds alongside a hope and a dream, it was everything.

That trip is one of the reasons why this entire situation feels so dismal. Budget-friendly air travel has often been a way for working-class people to not only see the world but, simultaneously, see our highest selves. It provides access to a multitude of global destinations while also helping to broaden how we see our place in the world. 

Everyone deserves to be able to travel

The disappearance of Spirit also speaks to a larger issue: how those of us who don’t have astronomical net worths or a track record seem disposable in our system. When we take away people’s resources to dream bigger than their circumstances and limit the ways in which they connect to the world around them, it is a fundamental endorsement of an economy that continues to enrich a small few while the rest of us watch our quality of life erode. 

While we are in the early stages of this monumental loss, we are in the late stages of capitalism ‒ in which painful disruptions will continue to be borne most heavily by those least equipped to deal with them. It breaks my heart to witness the cruel comments that make light of such a loss for many people, especially working-class Americans. There are so many of us who live paycheck to paycheck and can barely afford the simple necessities in life.

At a time when rights, laws and policies that directly enhance the lives of marginalized communities in this country are being rolled back, the pilfering of our joy is a disgusting reminder of the era we live in. And if the ability to travel becomes only the right of the wealthy, I fear we’ve already lost the plot.

Kenneth Williams Jr. is an entertainment journalist, cultural commentator and media consultant whose work focuses on the intersection of pop culture and modern media.