With Spirit Airlines canceling all operations immediately, thousands of employees have lost jobs, and passengers are left scrambling. At Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), Spirit travelers were on the hunt for other flights during one of New Orleans’ most popular festival weekends.
“We hit the phone several times and, lo and behold, we managed to get something,” said Michael Harris, a traveler. “I said, no matter what the cost is, we got to get back home.”
Harris originally had a connecting Spirit flight to land in New York, but was able to book a rescue flight with Delta.
“For all the staff who got affected, after 34 years,” Harris said, ”we wish them all the best and hope they’ll find employment elsewhere.”
For Spirit flights, MSY had 54 arrivals and 55 departures, with routes to Orlando, Tampa, Dallas and Chicago.
According to travel analysts, this bankruptcy could have a ripple effect on other airline prices.
“It really depends on which routes you’re looking at as to whether you’ll see a large impact to this, or a smaller one,” said Julian Kheel, CEO and founder of airline budget planner, Points Path. “On air routes where Spirit was a primary carrier, we could see increases of up to 100 or $200. Other routes where Spirit wasn’t a prominent factor might see little to no increase.”
For regular customers, Kheel said the Spirit frequent flier miles are likely to have no value, but that ultimately depends on the bankruptcy court’s decision.
READ MORE:MSY travelers search for new flights after Spirit shutdown
