How Spirit Airlines’ business model collapsed—and why a Trump bailout could make things worse

During a CNBC interview on April 21, President Trump for the first time hatched the possibility of an administration-led rescue plan for stricken Spirit Airlines. “Spirit’s in trouble,” declared the POTUS, “Maybe the federal government should help out on that one…it’s 14,000 jobs.” Prior to Trump’s statement, few if any were speculating on such a solution. Indeed, though the U.S. propped up a broad swath of carriers post-911 and during COVID, we’ve never seen a Washington bailout designed for an individual airline.