Spirit Airlines, a budget carrier that operated for 34 years, ceased its operations on Saturday, prompting a grassroots initiative called Spirit 2.0. The movement was launched by Hunter Peterson, a former passenger and voice actor, who aims to rally everyday individuals—including former employees and passengers—to collectively purchase the now-defunct airline.
Peterson's initiative began as a lighthearted idea but has quickly gained traction, with millions of views on social media posts and significant traffic to the Spirit 2.0 website, which he created in a short time. The website emphasizes the concept of community ownership, drawing parallels to the Green Bay Packers, the only publicly owned team in the NFL. Peterson suggests that a similar model could be applied to aviation, allowing stakeholders to prevent private equity firms from acquiring the airline for profit.
As of Sunday afternoon, Peterson reported receiving non-binding pledges totaling nearly $23 million from over 36,000 individuals. However, no actual funds have been collected, and the target for the initiative is approximately $1.7 billion—far less than the previous acquisition bid of $3.8 billion by JetBlue, which was halted by antitrust regulators in 2022.
The collapse of Spirit Airlines impacted about 17,000 employees and left many travelers in need of alternative arrangements. Other airlines, including United and American, have responded by offering assistance to stranded passengers.
Peterson, who has taken on the role of a potential new CEO in this endeavor, expressed surprise at the level of interest and support for the movement, which aims to demonstrate the collective will and financial capability to make a serious bid for the airline before it is claimed by private investors.