Spirit Airlines shut down overnight Saturday, canceling all flights, letting go of 17,000 employees and telling ticketholders not to come to the airport. [1]
Hunter Peterson, a voice actor who said he had long gripes about the airline, posted a TikTok proposing that people chip in to buy Spirit and relaunch it as "Spirit 2.0: Owned by the People." [1]
Peterson's video drew a fast response online. By Sunday, 36,000 self-described "founding patrons" had pledged nearly $23 million, he said. [1]
The pledges were not binding and did not represent real money, Peterson said. He also said the actual cost of acquiring and restarting an airline would run into the billions, far above the amount collected so far. [1]
Peterson had already posted a video on Sunday recruiting aviation lawyers and public relations staff, and he told viewers, "you’re committing to this bit, so I’m committing to this bit." [1]
The campaign now faces the much larger task of turning online enthusiasm into a real bid, with Peterson saying he still needs help and does not know everything needed to buy and relaunch an airline. [1]
