Spirit Airlines' gift to passengers, other airlines

• The shutdown of Spirit Airlines is expected to cause airfares to rise, especially in markets the low-cost carrier previously served.
• Other airlines, like JetBlue, are expanding routes to capture passengers in markets where Spirit had a large presence.
• Spirit's fleet of over 170 aircraft will become available to other airlines through bankruptcy proceedings, though this will take time.

Spirit Airlines left a parting gift for its competitors.  

When the low-cost airline ceased operations on May 2, it created an opening for other carriers to grow. 

JetBlue and other airlines are already making moves to lure passengers in markets where Spirit had a big presence. As the bankruptcy proceedings get underway, more than 170 aircraft will be up for grabs in one way or another. 

Experts say it will take some time for the aviation market to reach a new equilibrium, but passengers should expect some capacity growth at some carriers and higher airfares in most markets that Spirit used to serve. 

Here’s what analysts say will likely happen next:

Airfares will rise 

The most significant impact for travelers is that airfares are likely to go up across the board, but especially in markets where Spirit competed with other airlines. Airlines are struggling with higher fuel costs as a result of the Iran war, and the exit of a low-cost competitor means other companies don’t have to compete on price as strenuously. 

“That will make it a lot easier for carriers that remain to raise prices to cover the higher costs they’re experiencing. It’ll accelerate the rate at which they can raise prices,” Robert W. Mann Jr., a former airline executive officer and current president of R.W. Mann and Co., an independent airline consultancy, told USA TODAY.  

Mann warned, however, that as airlines raise prices, they may also cut off some demand, especially as more cost-sensitive travelers get priced out of the market with higher airfare. 

Ahmed Abdelghany, associate dean for research and professor of operations management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told USA TODAY that travelers will need to be ready to pay more without Spirit in the airline ecosystem. 

“This low price was helping the consumer and forcing other airlines in many markets to match that low fare in some of their booking classes,” he said. “You are not losing capacity permanently for sure, but what you are losing permanently is the lowest price point in the market.” 

Planes will join other fleets 

Spirit’s all-Airbus fleet is up for grabs – sort of. 

As aircraft manufacturers face delays in delivering new planes to customers, there will likely be a scramble for Spirit’s fleet. But, Mann warned, the redeployment of Spirit’s planes won’t happen overnight, and likely won’t help add capacity during the peak summer travel season, at least this year. 

“The whole thing is handled under the bankruptcy process, so the idea that things are going to happen Monday morning or next Monday morning or even in June, is optimistic,” Mann said, adding that it can take a month or more just for planes to be inspected, repaired and retrofitted when a new company brings them on board. 

“The idea that many of them would go back to work for the summer is quite limited. They would only be available after the summer, and by that point, you don’t need them.” 

According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Spirit had 172 planes in its fleet when it shut down on May 2. Of those, 95 were in active service and 77 were in storage, largely in Arizona. A majority of Spirit’s planes – 124 – were leased, which means they’ll automatically be returned to the lessor. 

Some of the 48 owned planes were also signed over to a lessor previously, meaning the bankruptcy proceedings will only result in a direct sale of a few of the aircraft in Spirit’s fleet. 

Still, Abdelghany said, airlines around the world will be happy to take them on. 

“Since they are mostly in the Airbus 320 family, the lessors won’t have a problem relocating those to other airlines,” he said, and the owned aircraft shouldn’t take too long to sell. “It’s an attractive option for many airlines.” 

According to Cirium, Frontier Airlines, another all-Airbus American ultra-low-cost carrier, is one of the likeliest companies to benefit directly from Spirit’s aircraft becoming available. But other airlines globally, including in the Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions, could wind up with some of the airframes as well.  

Frontier Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its future fleet plans.

Airlines will try to capture demand 

Closer to home, U.S. airlines are likely to work overtime to fill the gaps left by Spirit Airlines, particularly in profitable, popular Florida markets. 

JetBlue, one of Spirit’s biggest competitors in the Sunshine State, has already announced aggressive moves to expand there. 

The company announced 11 new routes from Fort Lauderdale, a former Spirit hub, on May 4. 

Abdelghany said the move wasn’t surprising and was already telegraphed by JetBlue and other airlines as Spirit contracted its operations during successive bankruptcies in the last few years. 

“It’s happened before: The shutdown of Spirit Airlines didn’t happen overnight. It was cutting routes and cutting destinations over the last few months,” he said. “This is going to be mostly absorbed in the markets. Another airline will come and fill those routes or expand in those markets.” 

Mann said JetBlue is probably the best-positioned airline to benefit from Spirit’s shutdown, since it already has such a solid foothold in Florida. 

“We’re stepping up for Fort Lauderdale to ensure the availability of air service in this market,” Marty St. George, JetBlue’s president, said in a statement announcing the Fort Lauderdale expansion. “Our focus is simple: Make it easier for customers to stay connected with the people and places that matter, while delivering the service, comfort and value they expect from JetBlue.” 

It also makes it more likely that JetBlue will be acquired by another airline down the road, according to Mann. Spirit’s exit from the market gives JetBlue, which has had financial struggles of its own in recent years, an opportunity to capture some additional revenue and make itself a more attractive takeover target by another airline.  

Reuters reported the Trump administration signaled in April that it would favor more consolidation in the airline market, suggesting a potentially major antitrust roadblock may not be much of an obstacle. 

Spirit’s employees may get rehired 

An airline winding down its business often leaves thousands of workers without jobs, but in the tight aviation market, many of those professionals – especially pilots and flight attendants – are likely to be able to get hired at other carriers as former competitor airlines look to expand in markets Spirit once served. 

“There’s going to be some displacement of some of the labor, but hopefully, the other airlines will absorb the majority of that workforce into them,” Abdelghany said.

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York, and you can reach him at [email protected].