Spirit Airlines Collapsed. What Happens to Budget Travel Now?
From The Skift Travel Podcast by Skift
May 8, 2026 · 34 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the collapse of Spirit Airlines and its implications for budget travel in the U.S.
Spirit Airlines is shutting down after years of financial struggles, failed merger attempts, and rising costs.Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko break down what killed Spirit, what it means for budget travel in the U.S., and why Skift Research found that travelers don’t necessarily return to destinations simply because they loved them. Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky…
People in this episode
Host: Skift
Guests: Sarah Kopit, Seth Borko
Topics covered
- budget travel
- airline industry
- financial struggles
- travel trends
- U.S. travel
Keywords
- Spirit Airlines
- budget travel
- financial struggles
- travel destinations
- airline merger
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Spirit Airlines, Skift Research, Skift
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