They’re keeping the spirit alive.
Spirit Airlines permanently shut down on Saturday after 34 years after a surge in fuel prices that impacted restructuring efforts, resulting in the cancellations of hundreds of flights and leaving customers wondering what this means for their future travel plans.
However, a group of common folk on social media are coming together to save the airline with a movement called “Let’s Buy Spirit.”
The website has already crashed twice due to an overwhelming response.
Prior to the site crash, a whopping 124,755 people expressed their intent to be a founding patron, with an unverified total of $88,071,428 pledged so far.
No money is actually being taken right now, but rather non-binding pledges that show serious intent to buy the shuttered airline.
“Let’s Buy Spirit” was started by social media user and voice actor Hunter Peterson, who posted about the idea on Saturday on social media.
He explained in the initial video that there are more than 250 million individuals over the age of 18 in the US, and if just 20% of that population contributed around $30 to $40 each — about the average cost of a Spirit Airlines ticket — they would be able to buy the airline.
“We nationalize Spirit Airlines, owned by the people,” he proposed.
About 2.5 hours after the post, Peterson shared that a lot of people expressed their interest in buying Spirit, so he launched the letsbuyspiritair.com website for people to “register their intent” to take part.
He also created an Instagram account for the movement, @spiritair2.0, which has garnered 157,000 followers at the time of reporting.
On the website, it’s noted that 44 million Americans flew Spirit in 2024, and private equity is “already circling the wreckage.”
“Before they lock it up — there is a narrow window for something that has never happened in commercial aviation. The passengers, the workers, and the communities Spirit served can take it back,” it says.
Peterson likened the movement to the Green Bay Packers, the only community-owned franchise in the NFL with 360,000 ordinary people owning shares.
As part of the proposal, pledge holders would become co-owners of the airline, with one vote per member.
“This is the Green Bay Packers model: democratic governance where no single member can dominate the direction of the airline,” the site reads. “Decisions on major matters — routes, leadership, strategic direction — are made collectively by the membership.”
There’s a minimum pledge of $45 — the cost of one ticket — though the average pledge size currently sits at $667, according to the site.
Despite the support from people on social media, Peterson noted that he’s aware the actual cost of buying an airline and restarting it will go into the billions. He posted a video asking for assistance from aviation lawyers, PR experts, and other professionals who can help push the movement along.
“I know what I don’t know,” he said, adding that he’s still committed to buying the airline.
“I’m learning this in real time,” he admitted. “This started as a joke, and it went out of control.”
Due to the site crash, pledges are currently temporarily disabled, but interested people can still browse the site, which says it will be back with “full pledge functionality” within 24 to 48 hours. Updates will be posted on the SpiritAir2.0 Instagram page for those interested.
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