Top airline offers $99 rescue fares as thousands are left stranded by Spirit shutdown

JetBlue is stepping successful to assistance travelers affected by Spirit Airlines’ shutdown, offering discounted fares and expanding work successful cardinal markets.

The determination follows Spirit’s abrupt shutdown implicit the weekend, which halted thousands of flights and near passengers scrambling to rebook.

JetBlue volition supply $99 one-way "rescue fares" for stranded Spirit customers with impervious of a valid itinerary connected the aforesaid route, with question disposable done May 6, the institution said successful a property release.

SPIRIT AIRLINES CHAOS COULD BE BIG LOSS FOR BUDGET TRAVELERS AS THEY FIGHT FOR ANSWERS

The hose volition besides headdress definite fares astatine $299 connected nonstop routes antecedently operated by Spirit from Fort Lauderdale and San Juan, aiming to forestall last-minute terms spikes.

JetBlue aims to enactment passengers affected by Spirit Airlines’ closure by introducing reduced summons prices and boosting work crossed large routes, the institution said. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

"This is truly pugnacious quality for the thousands of Spirit squad members affected, arsenic good arsenic the customers who were readying trips connected Spirit," JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said successful a statement. "We privation to assistance capable the void created by this loss."

JetBlue, which has large operations successful Fort Lauderdale and San Juan, said it is positioned to sorb immoderate of the displaced demand.

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The institution is adding work to 11 destinations and expanding flights connected existing routes, including caller work to cities specified arsenic Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit and Houston, on with Barranquilla and Cali, Colombia.

As portion of the expansion, JetBlue is besides returning to Charlotte Douglas International Airport for the archetypal clip since 2024, reintroducing work to a marketplace it antecedently exited owed to little demand.

The institution is reportedly expanding its web and boosting formation frequence connected existent routes, including the motorboat of respective caller services. (Ryan Collerd/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached retired to JetBlue for further comment.

The enlargement volition bring JetBlue’s Fort Lauderdale docket to astir 130 regular departures this summer, its largest cognition astatine the airdrome to date.

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"South Florida is simply a cardinal marketplace for JetBlue, and we admit this is simply a challenging infinitesimal for galore travelers," said Geraghty successful the statement. "Our absorption is connected stepping up successful the adjacent word by adding service, maintaining connectivity and keeping fares competitive, truthful customers tin proceed to question with confidence."

JetBlue said it volition proceed to set capableness based connected demand.

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The hose is besides offering enactment to Spirit employees, extending question privileges for pilots and formation attendants trying to instrumentality location and offering interrogation opportunities for unfastened roles.

As portion of its expansion, JetBlue is resuming work astatine Charlotte Douglas International Airport (pictured) for the archetypal clip since 2024. (Grant Baldwin/Getty Images)

Travel experts are informing that the nonaccomplishment of Spirit Airlines could person ripple effects crossed airfare pricing nationwide, Fox News Digital antecedently reported.

Lee Abbamonte, a New York-based question expert, said Spirit "almost singlehandedly kept pricing competitory successful galore markets," adding that its lack could trim unit connected different carriers to support fares low.

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"Without Spirit, there’s nary crushed for airfare to ever travel down," Abbamonte told Fox News Digital, noting the displacement could mean less options and higher baseline prices for fund travelers.

Andrea Margolis of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.