What would a Spirit Airlines shutdown mean for travelers?

A Spirit Airlines shutdown would ripple through commercial aviation, likely raising higher fares as the budget carrier exits the market, industry experts said. "Any time you have a reduction in capacity and demand increases, airfares have nowhere to go but up. And that doesn't count the fares that are already rising because of the spike in fuel prices," CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg told CBS News Boston. With a $500 million federal bailout stalling, Spirit plans to shut down as soon as Saturday unless there is an intervention, CBS News reported. Trump administration officials have been informed that Spirit may cease operations in the next 24 hours. Losing Spirit, known for its ultra-low fares, would likely mean costlier tickets on other airlines. A CBS News analysis of Cirium data, a provider of aviation analytics, found average fares jumped 23%, or roughly $60, for a round-trip flight when Spirit exited a route. Overall passenger volume also fell 20% after the carrier left a market. Spirit's failure could boost fares at a time when ticket prices are already elevated due to higher jet fuel costs from the Iran war . What if I have a ticket for a future Spirit flight? Customers with tickets for future Spirit flights are entitled to full refunds if the airline goes out of business. "If you're holding a Spirit ticket for a flight that hasn't happened yet, you'll get that back from your credit card company under federal credit laws," Greenberg said. …