A TikTok campaign to purchase and resurrect Spirit Airlines has garnered more than $132 million in pledges, just days after the budget carrier ceased operations. The initiative, spearheaded by content creator and voice actor Hunter Peterson, has attracted interest from over 170,000 individuals eager to take control of the company. However, the pledged amount represents non-binding promises rather than actual funds, meaning the $132 million figure is aspirational rather than liquid capital.
Spirit Airlines Shuts Down
Spirit Airlines announced on May 2 that it was immediately suspending all operations. The airline cited years of financial struggles exacerbated by rising fuel costs and an inability to secure the hundreds of millions of dollars in liquidity needed to sustain the business. “Sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not procure,” Spirit President and CEO Dave Davis stated. “This is tremendously disappointing and not the outcome any of us wanted.”
The TikTok Movement
Peterson proposed the idea of “nationalizing” the airline through a community-owned model in a TikTok video that has amassed 6.1 million views. He subsequently launched a website, letsbuyspiritair.com, to track interest. As of Tuesday, the average pledge was $772. Peterson described the momentum as a joke that is “rapidly going out of control in the best possible way.”
The sudden surge in traffic caused the pledge website to crash on May 4. Peterson said he is seeking help from developers, aviation lawyers, and industry executives to formalize the plan. “I’m not talking to anyone on TV or anything like that,” Peterson said in a TikTok video. “If you want to hear from me, it will be on social, until I talk to my lawyers.”
Massive Obstacles Ahead
The plan faces significant legal and financial hurdles. Under U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, any entity seeking to operate an airline must pass a rigorous “fitness” test, proving adequate financial resources and competent management. Additionally, federal law requires U.S. airlines to be under the “actual control” of U.S. citizens, with at least 75% of voting interest held by Americans.
A purely crowdfunded major airline has no historical precedent in the U.S., though worker-owned cooperatives exist in other industries. In 1994, United Airlines became the largest employee-owned company globally via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, but the model collapsed after the September 11 attacks, leading to a 2002 bankruptcy filing.
Expert Skepticism
Industry experts are skeptical. Robert W. Mann Jr., president of R.W. Mann and Co., an independent airline consultancy, told USA TODAY that Spirit would have been rescued if it had a viable future. “Spirit will come back in other forms: The planes will come back painted some other way, some of the employees will come back in other uniforms… But other than that, I don’t see it coming back,” he said.
Critics on Reddit have raised concerns about pledge validity and debt scale. “You can currently ‘pledge’ a million dollars after doing nothing more than verify your email,” one user wrote. “The number is totally meaningless.” Others questioned the leadership, with one commenter noting, “The ‘organizer’ has floated the idea that he would be CEO, that’s a deal-ender right there for me.”
Supporters’ Arguments
Supporters argue that maintaining a low-cost carrier is crucial for market competition. “The goal isn’t to be profitable, it’s to maintain an alternative to the other airlines to keep costs down for everyone,” one supporter wrote, suggesting the airline could run as a co-op similar to a local supermarket.
However, the $132 million pledged remains a fraction of the capital required. Analysts suggest Spirit would need upwards of $1 billion to settle debts and resume flights. The TikTok campaign, while viral, faces an uphill battle against financial reality and regulatory barriers.
