In the early hours of May 2, low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines definitively collapsed and canceled all flights after weeks of talks to save the beleaguered airline ultimately led to nothing.
“Despite the Company’s efforts, the recent material increase in oil prices and other pressures on the business have significantly impacted Spirit’s financial outlook,” the Florida-based airline that built a brand out of offering rock-bottom base fares said in a brief press release. “With no additional funding available to the company, Spirit had no choice but to begin this wind-down.”
The announcement came just past midnight on May 2 when no Spirit planes were in the air but anything scheduled for later in the day will now not be going forward. This leaves thousands of travelers across North America (Spirit flew both domestically and to some Caribbean destinations) either immediately stranded or with invalid tickets in the coming months.
Options for canceled Spirit flight: credit card refund and rescue fares
With Spirit also shutting down customer support, the only advice it is giving impacted travelers is to “look to rebook your travel on a different airline.”
Given the lamentable financial situation that usually precedes such a sudden shutdown of a company, travelers who booked travel have little recourse other than seek a refund through their credit card issuer and book a new flight — complaints through the DoT or a consumer protection agency could take months to process while travelers are, in bankruptcy cases, considered unsecured creditors with comparatively small losses who will be the last in line to see any kind of compensation.
Related: Canceled flight? Stop contacting bankrupt airlines for refunds
Any miles that frequent Spirit travelers have amassed through the airline’s loyalty program are now also gone. That said, travelers should still take the time to document their receipts and tickets through screenshots that they may try to present in claims later.
For those who need to travel immediately, independently booking a ticket on a different airline and then seeing what kind of compensation they can get later will be the best bet. In cases of a competitor’s collapse, airlines will traditionally offer rescue fares to those with disrupted travel.
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These airlines are offering rescue fares after Spirit cancelations
As of Saturday morning, fellow budget carrier Frontier Airlines became the first to offer limited rescue fares of 50% off for select travel days booked more than 21 days in advance and 10% off for anyone else — while this could be helpful to those who have Spirit flights booked in the coming months, it will not be particularly helpful to those who need to fly out in the coming days.
Other major low-cost and mainstream airlines are likely to follow with their own rescue fares in the next few days.
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With prices on certain routes that Spirit dominated likely to spike fast, booking flights early and profiting from the 24-hour cancelation protection window can also be a way to lock something in as soon as possible.
This article will be updated as more airlines announce rescue fares.
Related: As Spirit cancels all flights, competitors step in with first rescue fares