According to Bloomberg, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy plans to meet with Spirit executives this week, though it’s not yet clear whether the company will formally request the U.S. government to take an equity stake. According to Air Current, Duffy is the one who requested a meeting with the discount carriers to assess his health.
The federal government, under President Trump, took the extraordinary step of purchasing a 10% stake in Intel and various stakes in at least 10 more private companies. Nearly $10 billion in federal money has been used to take stakes in those companies since Trump returned to the White House in 2025, a highly unusual situation historically and occurring only in times of widespread economic crisis.
Spirit, which has been struggling for years, tried to be acquired by JetBlue in 2024, but the $3.8 billion merger was blocked by a federal judge. The airlines filed an appeal but ultimately decided it would be better to stay away from a potential merger during the Biden years because anti-competition laws were still being enforced at the time. The airline filed for bankruptcy later that year.
More recently, Spirit has been struggling after President Trump decided to start an unprovoked war with Iran, which began when the US and Israel began bombing the country on February 28. The US was able to remove some of Iran’s top leadership, but those positions have been filled by members of the regime who are reportedly even more radical and less willing to make compromises favorable to the US.
Iran has also closed off traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas passes before traveling to Europe, Asia and Africa. As a result, the price of jet fuel has soared around the world, flights have already been canceled and conditions are expected to worsen in the coming days and weeks.
Some Americans believe that the jet fuel shortage will not have any impact on the US, however this assumption is wrong. Even though the US shortage may arrive late compared to other countries, energy prices are determined by global supply and demand pressures. And it’s not as if American airlines when flying to other countries carry fuel for their return flights. Any US carriers that want to fly their planes back to the US have had to buy jet fuel from Europe, Asia and elsewhere as the shortage becomes more severe.
Spirit did not immediately respond to emailed questions Monday afternoon. Gizmodo will update this article if we hear back.
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