Spirit Airlines: From a $3.8B Offer to Zero

In July 2022 JetBlue agreed to buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion. Less than four years later Spirit halted every flight and sold its last 27 planes for a fraction of that price. This episode walks through the court opinion, the bankruptcy filings and the fleet and fare numbers that explain how it happened. 00:00 A $3.8 Billion Price Tag 00:44 The Bare Fare Machine 02:06 Two Suitors and a Pandemic 03:34 "This One's for You" 05:07 The Engines That Stayed on the Ground 06:43 Chapter 11, Then Chapter 22 10:09 Two Dollars and Twenty-Four Cents 11:21 Flight 1833 and the Findings Sources: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/U... https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/sto... https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/02/busine... https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/16/in... https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/29/front... https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spirit-a... https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/10/spiri... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5... https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spirit-a... https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/tec... Footage and photo credits: Danielle Walquist, "2008 MoakleyCourthouse Boston 2669012840" (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi..., CC BY 2.0 ajay_suresh, "John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse (54960820858)" (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi..., CC BY 4.0 4300streetcar, "John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse September 2024" (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi..., CC BY 4.0 APK, "Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building" (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi..., CC BY 4.0 Duch, "Pratt %26 Whitney PW1000G - Airbus Family Day 2024 Toulouse 04" (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi..., CC BY 4.0 Music: The Grey Room / Density & Time (YouTube Audio Library) Not financial advice. Narration voice is AI-generated.