May 3, 2026

Is the Biden administration responsible for the loss of Spirit?

35 comments:

Aggie said...

Didn't Elizabeth Warren similarly celebrate at the time of this announcement?
Take a bow,
Senator !

Kevin said...

Is the Biden administration responsible for the loss of Spirit?

In so many ways.

wendybar said...

Yes, they are. Lizzy Warren has her hand in it too.

Joe Bar said...

Buttigieg was so bad everyone knew who the Secretary of Transportation was.

Dave Begley said...

Another epic failure by Pete. Lots of unemployed people and higher air fares because he wouldn’t do the right thing.

The Dems don’t do the hard work that math requires. And, of course, the Dems don’t understand market economics. I see the same thing when it comes to CAGW. Willful ignorance of the numbers.

And let’s not forget the billions automakers had to write off because Pete pushed them to build expensive and unwanted
EV’s onto the public.

Pete worked for McKinsey so he should have known the numbers.

But he’s immune from criticism by the Fake News because he’s glib and gay. Protected!

n.n said...

Fewer flights and higher fares with transportation reform was a green but not novel deal.

n.n said...

Another industry scalped, an flight aborted, with an insidious native choice.

Dave Begley said...

And I think it was the Obama Administration that let Delta buy Northwest and United merge with Continental. It’s my recollection that both Continental and Northwest were much bigger than Spirit and were kind of profitable. Those mergers really hurt competition. I’m sure some Dems cashed in on approving those deals. The Northwest CEO got a big payday. I think he was a Dem.

Mr. T. said...

Yes.


Next question?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Of course. And they are angry at the news it happened. Win win.

Dave Begley said...

Doug Steenland got $18.3m for merging Northwest into Delta. Now a senior advisor at Blackstone. Easy Street.

Bob Boyd said...

My guess is Spirit hadn't donated enough to Democrats.

Sally327 said...

I don't think anyone in the Biden administration or Elizabeth Warren cared one way or the other about this -certainly not a concern for passengers, that's just laughable- so it has to be them acting on behalf of someone else who wanted this failure to happen. Cui bono? Did Spirit have desirable slots at certain airports that will now be up for grabs? Who gets the win here?

n.n said...

Elizabeth was gay with the announcement. Pete, too.

baghdadbob said...

If Continental bought Aer Lingus, the new branding could be...

Oh, never mind.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

The Biden administration was 4 years of malicious incompetence.

Christopher B said...

The ICC almost killed the railroad industry the same way by ignoring non-rail (and often government subsidized) competition, and either forcing healthy mergers to take on basketcases or delaying mergers that would have preserved infrastructure, in a similarly politicized process.

Krumhorn said...

And let’s not forget what Biden and LightBringer have done to coal-fired power plants.

- Krumhorn

Original Mike said...

Frankly, I'm amazed at how low plane tickets are, given what's involved. Are rock bottom prices really the wisest goal in this industry?

Peachy said...

Leftist Communist Socialist Democrats have ALWAYS been economic idiots.

Peachy said...

14,000 people out of work thanks to ELIZABETH WARREN (D-commie money grubbing idiot)

Curious George said...

"Peachy said...
14,000 people out of work thanks to ELIZABETH WARREN (D-commie money grubbing idiot)"

She's on social media blaming Trrump saying high gas prices doomed Spirit.

Anthony said...

Would Jet Blue have survived higher fuel prices if it were saddled with Spirit's airplanes and payroll?

Dave Begley said...

Scott Bessent just said on Maria’s show that “Pete Buttigieg was the worst Transportation Secretary in history.” FACT.

Moondawggie said...

Pete achieved his goal of lowering airfares: Spirit tickets now cost $0! Only problem is they don't go anywhere...

Big Mike said...

I suppose it will surprise Althouse as much as Senator Faxahontas

Peachy said...

Elizabeth Warren Killed Spirit Airlines and Now She’s Complaining About It

Democrats are all liars. They shit the bed - then blame others.

Big Mike said...

… Fauxahontas that economics does not bend to political ideology, any more than physics does.

Big Mike said...

Interesting that there are Democrats who think Pete Buttigieg is Preddrntial material. The asshole cannot even read a spreadsheet.

Big Mike said...

Warren and Buttigieg got wealthy “serving” the people of the United States. Maybe they should reach into their own pockets to help get the stranded Spirit passengers home.

Dogma and Pony Show said...

It reminds me of AOC deciding Amazon shouldn't locate its HQ in NY: Ignorant, unserious dems making fateful decisions about hugely consequential things in pursuit of a soundbite.

Freder Frederson said...

And I think it was the Obama Administration that let Delta buy Northwest and United merge with Continental.

You are half right (which is pretty good for you). The Delta merger occurred under W. Don't forget that Eastern collapsed under Reagan.

Would Jet Blue have survived higher fuel prices if it were saddled with Spirit's airplanes and payroll?

No one thought Trump would start a pointless war with Iran that drove oil prices through the roof.

Money Manger said...

Spirit's planes and gates will not disappear. Either they will be sold off and reused by other airlines, or the entire Spirit business will be recapitalized and re-emerge with a new name.
Unfortunately, the recent jump in jet fuel prices negatively impacts the whole air travel business model. The transition will probably await some stability there.

James K said...

It was predictable when the Jet Blue-Spirit merger was rejected (ostensibly to preserve competition) that Spirit would go under, and the competition wouldn't be preserved anyway. I think it's safe to assume that Jet Blue was a better judge of the outcome of the merger than Pete Buttigieg.

James K said...

As for the impact of higher fuel prices, even the NYT reported a few weeks ago that higher fares were having only minimal impact on ridership, and that airline revenues were up.

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