Rivals pledge to support Spirit flyers if the budget airline shuts down

As concerns grew that Spirit Airlines could imminently ground its planes and cease all service, competing airlines said they were ready to help stranded flyers in the event of a shutdown.

As of late Friday afternoon, Spirit continued to operate its scheduled flights. However, reports suggested the Florida-based ultra-low-cost carrier could be on the brink of liquidation, which could abruptly leave passengers without the flights they'd booked.

Most notably, American Airlines on Friday said it "immediately" implemented fare caps on main cabin tickets on routes where American and Spirit currently go head-to-head.

That could offer Spirit flyers a backup option without exorbitant last-minute fares.

"The American Airlines team is prepared to do all it can to support Spirit Airlines customers and team members," the Fort Worth-based carrier told TPG in a statement.

United Airlines said it was preparing to support Spirit workers and flyers and that it would likely have additional details to share.

Meanwhile, Spirit's top budget competitor, Frontier Airlines, shared a similar sentiment on social media Friday, promising to "focus on helping people continue their travel plans with low-fare options."

According to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium, Spirit flew around 1.7 million U.S. domestic passengers in February 2026, the last full month with data available.

If the budget carrier does ultimately shutter operations, it's likely we'll hear about additional measures from U.S. airlines, including potential rescue fares. We'll continue to update this story with new information as we learn more.

In the meantime, you can read TPG's additional coverage of Spirit's currency bankruptcy and what it means for consumers here:

• Scheduled to fly with Spirit? Here's what to do
• Is this it? Spirit is preparing to shut down, reports say

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Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.