Spirit Airlines Considers Bankruptcy

[WyattEarp]

The news of Spirit Airlines' mounting airlines and potential bankruptcy calls into question the Justice Department's objective of fighting mergers simply to fight consolidation. Airlines are capital intensive businesses which require scale to compete. Spirit cannot compete in an industry with so many large but necessary competitors. I don't know what the optimal number of airlines is for the United States, but currently we have too many airlines.

I actually like the DOJ's efforts to protect and create more competition and block consolidation in certain industries. Certain areas of tech need a more competitive market. The DOJ has to take a more surgical approach.

Spirit Airlines considers filing for bankruptcy: Report | Morning in America

The International Air Transport Association predicts 1.5 million fewer flights will be taken in 2024 than in 2023. NewsNation's travel editor Peter Greenberg discusses why airlines have cut flights during the fourth quarter of the year. Greenberg also discusses a recent Wall Street Journal...

www.yahoo.com

 

[SchlongConery]

The news of Spirit Airlines' mounting airlines and potential bankruptcy calls into question the Justice Department's objective of fighting mergers simply to fight consolidation. Airlines are capital intensive businesses which require scale to compete. Spirit cannot compete in an industry with so many large but necessary competitors. I don't know what the optimal number of airlines is for the United States, but currently we have too many airlines.

I actually like the DOJ's efforts to protect and create more competition and block consolidation in certain industries. Certain areas of tech need a more competitive market. The DOJ has to take a more surgical approach.

Spirit Airlines considers filing for bankruptcy: Report | Morning in America

The International Air Transport Association predicts 1.5 million fewer flights will be taken in 2024 than in 2023. NewsNation's travel editor Peter Greenberg discusses why airlines have cut flights during the fourth quarter of the year. Greenberg also discusses a recent Wall Street Journal...

www.yahoo.com

How to become a millionaire in aviation? Start out as a billionaire.

Aviation is the best example of the saying, "The second mouse gets the cheese"

Seriously. As you say, it is an extraordinarily capital intensive industry, with most planes being leased. The interest and profits to the leasing company are a huge part of any airline's expenses. Fuel is expensive, maintenance is expensive and simple breakdowns can cause expensive delays, especially in small, high utilization fleets like Spirit. Bringing in another aircraft empty or putting passengers up overnight or having to pay for their tickets on another airline can erode already slim margins.

TOTAL staff costs, not just the pilots, are huge. Mechanics, baggage handlers, administrative staff, Flight Attendants and all their employment overhead is astronomical.

The SECOND mouse getting the cheese is how some airlines continue to operate. When an airline like Spirit fails, they are either taken over at pennies on the dollar or their assets are bought by bigger airlines at huge discounts.

Having said all this... ALWYS buy your airline tickets through an Ontario Travel Agency with a TICO number. That way if your airline goes Tango Uniform, you can be reimbursed by the Travel Industry's insurance fund. Expedia and all online booking sites are TICO registrants. AFAIK, the airlines themselves are not. So if the airline goes out of business, your payment is often lost, or at least delayed for a long time.

 

[bazokajoe]

The news of Spirit Airlines' mounting airlines and potential bankruptcy calls into question the Justice Department's objective of fighting mergers simply to fight consolidation. Airlines are capital intensive businesses which require scale to compete. Spirit cannot compete in an industry with so many large but necessary competitors. I don't know what the optimal number of airlines is for the United States, but currently we have too many airlines.

I actually like the DOJ's efforts to protect and create more competition and block consolidation in certain industries. Certain areas of tech need a more competitive market. The DOJ has to take a more surgical approach.

Spirit Airlines considers filing for bankruptcy: Report | Morning in America

The International Air Transport Association predicts 1.5 million fewer flights will be taken in 2024 than in 2023. NewsNation's travel editor Peter Greenberg discusses why airlines have cut flights during the fourth quarter of the year. Greenberg also discusses a recent Wall Street Journal...

www.yahoo.com

The DOJ just recently allowed Alaskan Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines to merger after meeting certain requirements.
Sometimes you gotta dig deeper to see why it was blocked.

 

[WyattEarp]

The DOJ just recently allowed Alaskan Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines to merger after meeting certain requirements.
Sometimes you gotta dig deeper to see why it was blocked.

The DOJ said they didn't want consumers to lose the choice of a budget airline.

It doesn't matter what the DOJ says or thinks. If Spirit isn't making money then their business model isn't working for them and it won't be working for consumers very long.