Spirit Airlines, which has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since August, appeared on Friday to be heading toward a shutdown after an attempted $500 million government bailout failed to materialize. What should you do if you have tickets booked on the low-cost carrier?
First, make new plans (and look for ‘rescue fares’).
If Spirit does shut down, you may eventually be able to get a refund for your ticket, but that won’t help if you’re stuck in Kansas City or Cancún (both Spirit destinations), or if you’re about to go on a long-awaited vacation.
In the past, other airlines have sometimes stepped up and offered discounted “rescue fares” to customers, as several European carriers did when WowAir, an Icelandic carrier, ceased operations in 2019. Ask around, and keep your eyes on the news.
Normally, if an airline cancels a flight, federal rules require it to give its passengers refunds. But once an airline in bankruptcy shuts down, that rule becomes mostly meaningless, because secured creditors — such as banks and other lenders — have priority over mere travelers like you and me.
If you do have to cancel an upcoming trip, be sure to seek refunds as soon as possible for hotel reservations and rental cars, and check if your travel insurance covers such costs as well.
Did you pay with a credit card? Lucky.
Credit card issuers are required by U.S. law to return money to customers who do not receive the goods or services purchased, even when companies cease operating. Your first move would be to get in touch with Spirit in writing and ask for your money back, keeping a record of your request in case your credit card issuer asks for proof you tried to get a refund. Then, get in touch with the card issuer either online or by calling the number on your card to dispute the charge, a process also known as a chargeback.
U.S. law gives you 60 days from the date of the statement on which a charge appears to begin a chargeback, but all four major credit card networks — Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover — have more generous timelines that require individual card issuers to accept chargeback requests up to 120 days from the date a service ended. In this case, that would be the date of departure of the last flight on your itinerary, even if it’s in the future.
That said, many customer service agents do not know this rule, and you may have to work hard to convince them. Note that if you paid with a non-U.S. version of one of these cards, these network rules most likely still apply, even if the U.S. law does not.
Did you use a debit card? Drat.
Now, the bad part: If you paid with a debit card, no such law applies and the networks offer no added protection, but it is worth asking for a refund anyway.
If you bought a travel insurance policy, you may be in luck. About 75 percent of the industry’s plans include coverage in the event of bankruptcy, said Jason Schreier, the chief executive of the travel division of Aegis General Insurance. But, he added, “There are timing restrictions in the wording that prevent a claim from coming in if a company goes insolvent within weeks of the policy being purchased.”
Also, the opt-in travel insurance you may get by, say, checking a box when you purchase a trip, and credit card benefits that include travel insurance are both less likely to cover a sudden airline bankruptcy than are policies you buy separately, Mr. Schreier said.
If all else fails, you can always file as a creditor in the bankruptcy proceeding. But you will be very low on the priority list.
Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2026.
Seth Kugel is the columnist for “Tripped Up,” an advice column that helps readers navigate the often confusing world of travel.
The post Are You Booked on Spirit? Here’s What You Need to Know. appeared first on New York Times.
