{"id":769379,"date":"2026-05-03T01:24:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T01:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/769379\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T01:24:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T01:24:24","slug":"what-to-do-if-you-were-traveling-on-spirit-airlines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/769379\/","title":{"rendered":"What to do if you were traveling on Spirit Airlines"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEATTLE (AP) \u2014 The collapse<\/a> of the U.S.-based Spirit Airlines may mark the end of an era<\/a> for travelers with a certain financial sensibility.<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019ve been snagged in their now-defunct flight schedule, here are some things to know on how to get home, and get whole. <\/p>\n

\u201cRescue fares,\u201d reduced prices for new flights<\/p>\n

Many airlines that used to compete with Spirit are now parachuting in with deals to save their travelers. Airlines including American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines are capping or reducing ticket prices for people to book new flights. <\/p>\n

There is a limited window for this deal, which prioritizes now-stranded travelers who need to find a new way to their next destination. <\/p>\n

For example, Southwest\u2019s offer is only available in person at an airport ticket counter through Wednesday, May 6, according to industry trade group, Airlines for America and the U.S. Department of Transportation. United, meanwhile, is allowing such bookings for up to two weeks, which can be accessed online.<\/p>\n

For those who were planning to fly Spirit and now need to find an alternative to the ultra low cost carrier, American, Allegiant, Frontier and Delta advertised reduced fares on the same routes Spirit once flew. <\/p>\n

Many company announcements include maps showing where its routes overlapped with Spirits, which can help narrow the search to find a comparable flight. <\/p>\n

\u201cSpirit Airlines played an important role in expanding access to affordable travel and bringing more low fares to more people,\u201d said Bobby Schroeter, Frontier\u2019s chief commercial officer. \u201cWe recognize this is a difficult time for their customers and team members. <\/p>\n

Get your money back in refunds<\/p>\n

Spirit Airlines said they were prepared for an \u201corderly wind-down\u201d of its operations, and that it will automatically process refunds for any flights booked on a credit or debit card. <\/p>\n

Travelers who booked through third-party travel agencies should direct refund requests to those agents. <\/p>\n

Anyone else who got their reservation through vouchers, credit or points will have to wait and see though Spirit\u2019s bankruptcy process.<\/p>\n

If there are questions about whether your money will make a safe landing back to your wallet, there are other ways to try to claw back your cash for the Spirit flight not taken.<\/p>\n

The DOT suggests contacting your credit card company and exercising your rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act, by requesting a \u201cchargeback\u201d for services not rendered.<\/p>\n

If you purchased travel insurance or it is included in your credit card\u2019s policy and perks, call them to see if they cover \u201cinsolvency\u201d or \u201cservice cessation.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n AP AUDIO: Spirit Airlines says it\u2019s going out of business after 34 years and is ending operations immediately\n <\/p>\n

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports Spirit Airlines shuts down leaving customers stranded and scrambling.<\/p>\n

The last resort would be filing a bankruptcy claim but officials warn this route eats up time and money, and ultimately may only result in a partial refund. <\/p>\n

The National Consumers League warned travelers to keep all documentation to prove they were booked for Spirit flights, including receipts, booking confirmations, cancellation notices, and any correspondence with the airline. The nonprofit watchdog organization also urged those affected to act immediately as credit card and insurance companies may have strict deadlines that can be time-sensitive.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot all Spirit customers should assume a refund will automatically appear,\u201d said John Breyault, the league\u2019s vice president of public policy, telecommunications, and fraud. \u201cWhen an airline shuts down this suddenly, it\u2019s up to travelers to take proactive steps to have the best chance of getting their money back.\u201d <\/p>\n

Expanding capacity and perks<\/p>\n

American and United both said it is trying to adjust its fleet so it can help more stranded passengers. American said it is looking into tapping larger planes and United said it is potentially adding additional flights on routes where they overlapped with Spirit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are reviewing\u2004opportunities to add additional capacity, including utilizing larger aircraft on critical routes \u2014 to support\u2004as many\u2004affected passengers as possible,\u201d American said via an Airlines for America statement.<\/p>\n

Southwest also said it will offer a status-match, by honoring Spirit\u2019s Silver and Gold status members with its own A-List program.<\/p>\n

The car rental company Hertz is also advertising deals for alternative transportation, offering one-way vehicles and up to 25% off for those find \u201cthe road might be the fastest way home in scenarios like this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m an employee. Get me out of here.<\/p>\n

Spirit crew members who are stuck at their destination should be granted airline travel benefits, including spare jump seats where available on most major carriers.<\/p>\n

American said: \u201cWe will provide transportation for Spirit team members who have been displaced on a work trip,\u201d according to an Airlines for America statement.<\/p>\n

The DOT also said the other companies are offering preferential interviews to help expedite the job search for former Spirit pilots, flight attendants and other employees. American said it will be setting up recruiting events for those former employees. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEATTLE (AP) \u2014 The collapse of the U.S.-based Spirit Airlines may mark the end of an era for…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":769380,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[166,3881,315504,64,57,250956,59,87252,315503,50,14829,83713,11752,61,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-769379","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"category-us","9":"tag-aerospace-and-defense-industry","10":"tag-ap-top-news","11":"tag-bobby-schroeter","12":"tag-business","13":"tag-general-news","14":"tag-gold-com","15":"tag-inc","16":"tag-jetblue-airways-corp","17":"tag-john-breyault","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-southwest-airlines-co","20":"tag-spirit-airlines","21":"tag-u-s-department-of-transportation","22":"tag-u-s-news","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116508037509158297","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=769379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/769380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=769379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=769379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=769379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}