U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Saturday he does not think the government needs to bail out low-cost airlines that have sought $2.5 billion in government relief because of high jet fuel prices, following the collapse of Spirit Airlines.
“At this point, I don’t think it’s necessary. They do have access to cash. If they want to come to the U.S. government, we would be a lender of last resort. If they can find dollars in the private markets — I think that’s better for them,” Duffy said at a press conference at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
He said the prospect of a Spirit bailout was seen by some other airlines as an opportunity to get money “not necessarily based on need, but based on opportunity.”
On Monday, a group of U.S. budget airlines, including Frontier
and Avelo, said it had proposed exchanging warrants convertible into equity stakes for $2.5 billion in U.S. government assistance.
