What would a Spirit Airlines shutdown mean for travelers?

MoneyWatch What would a Spirit Airlines shutdown mean for travelers? .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Megan Cerullo, Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting. Read Full Bio Megan Cerullo, Kris Van Cleave, Kris Van Cleave Kris Van Cleave Emmy Award-winning journalist Kris Van Cleave is the senior transportation correspondent for CBS News based in Phoenix, Arizona, where he also serves as a national correspondent reporting for all CBS News broadcasts and platforms. Read Full Bio Kris Van Cleave, Sarah Ploss May 1, 2026 / 5:46 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google A Spirit Airlines shutdown would ripple through commercial aviation, likely raising higher fares as the budget carrier exits the market, industry experts said. "Any time you have a reduction in capacity and demand increases, airfares have nowhere to go but up. And that doesn't count the fares that are already rising because of the spike in fuel prices," CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg told CBS News Boston.With a $500 million federal bailout stalling, Spirit plans to shut down as soon as Saturday unless there is an intervention, CBS News reported. Trump administration officials have been informed that Spirit may cease operations in the next 24 hours.Losing Spirit, known for its ultra-low fares, would likely mean costlier tickets on other airlines. A CBS News analysis of Cirium data, a provider of aviation analytics, found average fares jumped 23%, or roughly $60, for a round-trip flight when Spirit exited a route. Overall passenger volume also fell 20% after the carrier left a market.Spirit's failure could boost fares at a time when ticket prices are already elevated due to higher jet fuel costs from the...