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Update, 10/26: The WSJ reported that JetBlue’s creditors have hired advisors in preparation for a bankruptcy, and the stock’s price is in a tailspin, down over 9% today and 44% over the past month.
My assumption is that if the airline enters bankruptcy protection and sheds debt, United will step in to buy the airline or buy assets that it’s interested in. United would love to get back into JFK and open a Fort Lauderdale hub, which JetBlue would enable.
United may face competition from Alaska, which would also benefit from JetBlue’s strong East Coast presence. However, United is in the better financial position to make a deal, and the BlueSky Partnership gives it the inside track to making a deal. Despite United CEO Scott Kirby’s denial of interest in JetBlue, my money is that it will pounce on JetBlue or its assets in bankruptcy.
If United buys the airline out of bankruptcy, people’s status and miles would stay in place. If United buys only the airline’s assets, it may or may not take on those liabilities.
Update, 5/1: The WSJ is reporting that Spirit plans to cease operations early tomorrow at 3AM ET after the airline’s top creditors refused the government’s bailout conditions, which could have led to greater financial losses for the creditors.
Update, 4/21: President Trump would like another airline to buy out Spirit. JetBlue previously tried, but the Biden administration rejected it.
Spirit has also asked for a government bailout or for the government to buy equity in the airline, and it appears that President Trump may be open to that request.
When President Trump was discussing bailing out airlines in 2020, we posted a list of consumer rights that should have been a precondition for any bailout. Unfortunately, airlines got that bailout with nothing in return to benefit taxpayers, so we can expect the same this time around if Spirit receives a bailout…
The President is also against United’s absurd proposal to buy American.
.@POTUS on the airline industry: "Spirit is in trouble and I'd love somebody to buy Spirit. It's 14,000 jobs… But with American, it's doing fine, and United is doing very well… I don't like having them merge." pic.twitter.com/jAaaMmR99d
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 21, 2026
Originally posted on 4/16:
Spirit has been stuck in its 2nd bankruptcy and has been unable to find a path towards profitability.
CNBC reports that the airline may liquidate as early as this week.
COVID changed the way that people travel. When people were stuck at home, they realized they were willing to spend more for a better travel experience, and once they did so, rarely went back.
The major network carriers also cracked the code by offering a better overall travel experience through basic economy fares, allowing them to compete directly with low-cost carriers without sacrificing margins.
Low-cost carriers like Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, and Spirit have struggled to remake their value propositions and turn a profit post-COVID.
Spirit has tried and failed to merge with Frontier and JetBlue. The Biden administration rejected the Spirit-JetBlue merger, but it’s conceivable that both of those airlines will fail due to their small size and poor balance sheets.
JetBlue is currently shopping itself around in a bid to survive. However, JetBlue founder David Neeleman, who is now CEO of Breeze Airways, says in a leaked recording that JetBlue will soon be forced into bankruptcy and won’t find any buyers:
“from the April 14 pilot pocket session at Breeze where David Neeleman is answering a question about his belief on the state of jetblue.” pic.twitter.com/jujcYppWH4
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) April 15, 2026
At current jet fuel pricing, the airline would lose $1.3 billion this year and be forced into bankruptcy. With $9 billion in debt and $800 million in annual interest to service the debt, Mr. Neeleman says that JetBlue will not be able to find a buyer. He shares that United partnered with JetBlue and didn’t buy them due to the high debt levels. Other suitors like Alaska and Southwest are also uninterested in taking on that debt.
Of course, if JetBlue went into bankruptcy and shed the debt, they would become far more attractive for an airline like American or United.
Mind you, while Mr. Neeleman still owns a big chunk of JetBlue, he also runs a competing airline. I wouldn’t take everything he says at face value, but he’s not wrong that JetBlue and its balance sheet are a mess.
Either way, it sure seems like the days of JetBlue and Spirit as standalone carriers are numbered.
