By Aldgra Fredly
Contributing Writer
Budget carrier Spirit Airlines said on Sunday that it has almost completed refunding customers after abruptly ceasing operations and canceling all flights over the weekend.
Thousands of travelers were stranded on Saturday when the Florida-based airline shut down operations after its restructuring efforts fell through amid a sharp rise in oil prices and other financial pressures.
Following the shutdown, Spirit Airlines assured customers that it would automatically refund tickets that were purchased directly through the airline using credit or debit cards.
The airline said on Sunday that it had refunded most of the customers who purchased tickets with credit or debit cards by Saturday evening, with a small percentage still pending.
Customers who booked flights through travel agents have been advised to contact their agents. Spirit Airlines said on Saturday that it would decide at a later stage, through the bankruptcy process, how to compensate those who used vouchers, credits, or loyalty points.
Spirit Airlines did not respond to a request for additional information by publication time.
The U.S. Transportation Department said on Saturday that major carriers, including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and Southwest Airlines, have agreed to cap ticket prices for Spirit customers for a limited time. Some airlines have also agreed to offer reduced fares or freeze prices on overlapping routes to support affected passengers.
“In a matter of hours, we’ve activated our airline partners to ensure passengers are not stranded, communities maintain route access, fares do not skyrocket, and Spirit’s workforce is connected to new job opportunities,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.
The shutdown follows months of restructuring efforts. Spirit Airlines President and CEO Dave Davis said on Saturday that the company had reached a restructuring deal with bondholders in March, but surging fuel prices ultimately left it with no choice.
“Sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not procure. This is tremendously disappointing and not the outcome any of us wanted,” Davis said.
The airline had also explored selling aircraft and scaling back operations, but those steps were not enough to offset the rapid increase in expenses, with Spirit blaming “the recent material increase in oil prices and other pressures on the business” for having a significant impact on the company’s finances.
The shutdown marks the end of a 34-year run for Spirit, which built its brand on ultra-low fares. At its peak, the airline operated hundreds of daily flights and employed roughly 17,000 people.
Tom Ozimek and Reuters contributed to this report.
