Company Man, Bright Sun Films, and Business Insider ask 'The Decline of Spirit Airlines...What Happened??'

Sunday, I wrote, "I now have Spirit Airlines going bankrupt, again, and shutting down operations on my to-do list." Fortunately, it only took Company Man a week to produce and upload The Decline of Spirit Airlines...What Happened??

The controversial airline has shut down. This video outlines five of the biggest reasons behind its collapse.

Here is Company Man Mike's list of reasons for its failure.


I'm going to take Company Man's suggestion and embed Spirit Airlines - Why They're Hated to elaborate on his first point, negative reputation.

Spirit Airlines is among the most disliked companies out there. This video profiles the company while attempting to identify the reasons behind all the hatred.

Its bad reputation is the reason why the only times I've mentioned Spirit Airlines on this blog was when they were the butt of jokes on SNL, Jimmy Kimmel, and SNL again, the first two for rescue attempts and the final time for its failure. Sorry, no Daily Show. Since Company Man likes lists, here's the one he created for this video.


Fees and cost cutting tie into the first list's second point about tough competition, but the advertising alone would have made the company into a joke. Who needs late night comedians to make fun of you when your ad agency does the work for them?

I often write that no bankrupt company's story is complete without both Company Man and Bright Sun Films making videos about them. It turns out Jake Williams of Bright Sun Films already uploaded Bankrupt - Spirit Airlines last year.

 

Formed from a humble air carrier operation in 1990, Spirit Airlines has gone onto pioneer the ultra low cost budget carrier model in America, becoming known (perhaps infamously) as the cheapest airline in the skies. However, times have changed and their business model is now looking like a liability rather than an asset. Join me today as we find how this notable airline went from billions in revenue, to bankruptcy in just a few years.

It's always a good day when I learn something new and, between Jake and Company Man Mike, I learned that Spirit Airlines began as a Michigan company, they flew Airbus planes, that the company began their expansion by taking advantage of other air carriers' troubles because conflict in the Middle East caused high oil prices, and the last flight originated in Detroit, where the company began. That makes today a very good day!

Both Company Man Mike and Jake Williams looked back. Business Insider looked ahead in The Rise And Fall Of Spirit Airlines.

For 34 years, Spirit Airlines made waves with its rock-bottom fares, racy advertising, and bright yellow planes. At its peak, it was the largest ultra-low-cost carrier in the US, selling flights to Florida for $39. But in May 2026, Spirit shut down completely. It canceled 9,000 flights and left staff with little information. So what happened to the low-cost behemoth? And what does its sudden closure mean for cheap airfare in America?

Other than more professional production values and journalists on-screen, Business Insider added little to the story of Spirit Airlines' rise, but it added quite a bit to the fall and everything to the impact. Donald "Hoover Harding Cleveland" Trump causing Spirit's troubles by attacking Iran, raising oil prices, then offering to bail out the airline serves as an example of everything Trump touches dies. This time, it didn't even take a week! As for the grassroots effort to buy the airline, backed by its laid-off employees, I wish it luck, but would be pleasantly very surprised should it succeed. In the meantime, expect higher air fares on the routes Spirit flew.

That's a wrap for what is effectively a business obituary. Stay tuned for Mother's Day.