Spirit Airlines helped turn flying into a fee-based nightmare. Now it’s gone, and fuel prices are soaring
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orgive me for not mourning last week’s demise of Spirit Airlines, the company responsible for making flying absolutely terrible. Due to rising expenses and billions of dollars in debt, Spirit shut down abruptly last Saturday, stranding thousands of customers who were unaware that an entire business meant to transport them through the sky was about to shutter for good.
Spirit was struggling for years, but it all got so much worse thanks to the soaring cost of jet fuel caused by the war in Iran and the crisis in the strait of Hormuz that halted the shipment of oil. It was bad enough being the country’s most ridiculed mode of conveyance outside of the Segway. But now it costs even more to suck that badly.
As a parent who occasionally has to schlep his child from one city to another for holidays or vacations, I can’t imagine making my travel time more inconvenient, despite any potential cost savings associated with said misery. We’re living through times defined by post-September 11 security theatre, Covid-era health concerns, a TSA shutdown, and now flight prices surging thanks to the strait closure. At this point, I’d rather be rolled up in a filthy rug and beaten with crowbars than even consider flying with my child unless absolutely necessary.My son is eight, so at least he’s not the “infinite sobbing” toddler and can entertain himself. But he is also very capable of complaining – about long wait times, lines, bad food, spotty wifi, strange smells. AKA all the things that make “friendly skies” what they are. He’s not quite old enough to understand that things can and will be inconvenient, that more often than not, life is full of minor issues that are so systemic that it’s not even worth commenting on. Imagine that innocence on Spirit Airlines. It was an airline for the young, but not that young.
