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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a number of relief measures for Spirit Airlines customers and employees on Saturday.
The four major U.S. airlines — United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest — “are all capping ticket prices specifically for Spirit customers who now need to rebook canceled flights,” Duffy said in a Saturday post on X. The airlines will offer Spirit customers who validate they have booked Spirit flights a one-way ticket costing around $200, Duffy said in a Saturday morning press conference.
“I would recommend that if you have a ticket with spirit that you actually try to book with these airlines as soon as possible, these offers are not going to be open forever,” he said.
Additional relief measures for both customers and former Spirit employees will also be implemented, including a pathway for preferential employment interviews at other airlines, Duffy wrote.
“There’s a demand for aviation workers. So, even American and United have drafted or crafted microsites for Spirit employees to potentially jump the line, jump the queue and get preferential treatment in the application process for the many airlines that are now hiring, whether it’s pilots, flight attendants, baggage workers, or even those who have worked in the call centers, you can go to the individual websites to see what’s offered by each of the individual airlines,” Duffy said.
Spirit Airlines announced the shutdown of operations early Saturday morning, Duffy announced.
“This morning at 3 a.m., Spirit Airlines ceased operations. So what that means is Spirit does not have airplanes in the air flying as of this morning. Also, their call centers are closed, and they don’t have staff at ticket counters. So if you have a flight scheduled with Spirit Airlines, don’t show up at the airport. There will be no one here to assist you,” Duffy said.
Duffy also bashed Democrats, particularly the Biden administration, for what he said was their role in quashing a failed Spirit-JetBlue merger.
“Why are we here today?” Duffy asked. “There was a proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit, and Joe Biden and [Biden Transportation Secretary] Pete Buttigieg, along with the Biden DOJ, decided that they did not want that merger to take place.”
“And at the time, the Biden and Buttigieg DOJ bragged and said, as they canceled the option for this merger, that this was a victory for U.S. travelers who deserve lower prices and better choices,” Duffy continued.
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“This merger should have been allowed. And this, today would indicate this is not better for travelers. This is not better for pricing. This is not better for competition. Actually. It’s worse. We had an airline go down because the markets were trying to allow two airlines to merge, make them stronger and offer more competition for the American consumer,” he said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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