ATLANTA — Sunday is the second day of scrambling for thousands of air travelers after Spirit Airlines announced early Saturday that it’s going out of business.
At Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, Chovonne Williams had snagged a flight home on Southwest Airlines Sunday morning. She told Channel 2’s Bryan Mims the ticket was double what she paid to get to Atlanta on Thursday.
Williams said was in town for her great nephew’s fifth birthday and her great niece’s prom. The airline’s shutdown came as a shock.
“Who thinks to wake up and look for a text message the day after you get somewhere to see that your plane is going to be cancelled?” Williams said. “That wasn’t my first thought when I woke up Saturday morning.”
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Williams says knew about the budget airline’s troubled finances but didn’t think a closure was imminent. She said Spirit could have warned passengers and employees of the potential shutdown.
“This was planned. It had to have been planned to close the company down at the 11th hour,” Williams said. “Not to tell anybody, no warning signs.”
Now, Williams is demanding to know when and how she’ll get her refund, but she’s not able to get a response from the airline.
“Nothing,” she said. “Nobody you can contact. There’s not a soul you can contact.”
Early Saturday morning the airline cancelled all flights and halted customer service. It said at that time, customers who booked flights with credit and debit cards through Spirit will get refunds.
Spirit has been buffeted with financial trouble since the pandemic and had two bankruptcies. Then the war in Iran sent jet fuel prices rocketing, forcing the company – a pioneer in low-cost air fares – to fold.
“It was just nerve-wracking, very nerve-wracking,” Williams said. “I did allow it to upset my weekend at first; however, God is good and he provides. So I’m glad I made it home, I’m going to make it home.”
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Jeff Anderson has long flown with Spirit Airlines. He even credits them for his marriage, saying the ultra-low fares kept a long-distance relationship going with his future wife.
“So it’s disheartening to hear that no more Spirit cheap tickets,” he said.
Anderson said he flew Spirit on Thursday to join his wife at a conference. He received a text and email Saturday morning about the airline’s closure. He considered renting a car to drive home to Orlando at a cost of about $400, then he booked a flight – albeit a much more expensive one – on Southwest Airlines.
But he harbors no ill-will against Spirit.
“No, there’s no reason to get angry,” he said. “I can understand their point. I do question that but also try not to be angry. Not going to do much good.”
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Atlanta-based Delta is offering discounted, non-refundable rescue fares over the next several days to help Spirit customers book last-minute flights. Southwest, American, United and Frontier are also stepping in to help stranded Spirit travelers.