U.S. President Donald Trump said he “would love to have somebody buy” the airline Spirit Airlines as a way to prevent the company from going bankrupt.
“Spirit is in trouble, and I would love to have somebody buy Spirit. That’s 14,000 jobs, and maybe the federal government should help with that,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC last Tuesday (21).
He spoke about the situation affecting the low-cost airline, which is currently in its second bankruptcy. Spirit has faced a series of setbacks since it first filed for bankruptcy in November 2024, including rising costs, an attempted merger with JetBlue, and problems with its jet engines.
More recently, Spirit has been affected by rising aviation fuel prices amid the war involving Iran. Now, according to The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration is moving closer to a deal to rescue the airline.
The U.S. government would reportedly lend the airline up to $500 million and, in return, receive warrants to “take a potential significant stake in Spirit,” the outlet reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The investment could be enough to help keep Spirit operating while it tries to emerge from bankruptcy.
Also according to The Wall Street Journal, Trump reportedly met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy this week to discuss the deal that could save Spirit Airlines. The Department of Transportation and the Department of Commerce are also involved in the discussions. So far, no agreement has been finalized.
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Photos: Public Domain / Creative Commons. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
