Shutdown of Spirit Airlines leaves flyers at O'Hare finding other flights
Travelers on Spirit Airlines flying in and out of O'Hare International Airport had to scramble to find other flights after the company shut down.
The airline ran out of cash, failed to secure a $500 million federal bailout, and felt the pressure of surging fuel prices.
At Terminal 2 in O'Hare, there are no employees, no flyers, and a message on the screen saying Spirit Airlines is no longer in operation. Some travelers say they were unaware of this cancellation and came to the airport for their flight anyway.
"One of my coworkers joked with me that I was going to have my flight canceled mid-air, and she was nearly right," said Andrew Benintende.
He says the writing was on the wall with Spirit Airlines. The 34-year-old company has filed for bankruptcy a couple of times in the last few years. For Benintende, he was able to rebook with a different airline for his Saturday morning New York to Chicago flight only 30 minutes later.
"I jumped on United's website, and they actually had a deal for Spirit flyers that capped their costs," he said.
"We are keeping these capped fares available for two weeks," said. Laura Mandile, managing director for customer service, United Airlines.
United launched a web page on Saturday for Spirit Airlines to keep its prices at the same rate. Southwest, JetBlue, and Delta also announced reduced fares for Spirit travelers, and Frontier is offering half off base fares.
"It's not just the customers we are concerned with, it's also the Spirit employees," Manidle said.
Another concern is what is next for the $17,000 Spirit Airlines workers. Some airlines already say they will prioritize those employees.
"American and United have drafted or crafted micro sites for Spirit employees to potentially jump the line, jump the queue, and get preferential treatment in the application process," said Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Now, travel experts say that with Spirit Airlines out of the mix, this will raise ticket prices across the board, and it's already happening.
"Yesterday, a ticket from Newark to Colombia, because Spirit also flew internationally, was about $700. Today, that ticket on American is $1200," said travel expert Peter Greenberg.
Travelers say they will miss the bright yellow planes and bargain fares, but they will start looking elsewhere.
"It's a cheap option, so it's a little disappointing that they are gone. But, you know, I understand ... business is business," Benintende said.
Spirit will now go through the liquidation process over the next several days.
If you are looking to rebook a Spirit flight, experts say to have your Spirit confirmation number and proof of payment with you. If you booked through Spirit Airlines, they will not reimburse you—your credit or debit card company will.
Also, if you were a member of the frequent flyer program. Experts say those miles will disappear and will not transfer to another airline.
