What the End of Spirit Airlines Means for the Future of Flying

When Spirit Airlines shut down over the weekend, it brought an end to a company that had revolutionized air travel in the United States with its ultra-low-cost approach. Niraj Chokshi, who covers aviation for The New York Times, discussed why the company unraveled and whether those problems could spread to other airlines. And Lynsea Garrison, a producer for “The Daily,” spoke to a Spirit flight attendant about what the airline represented. Guest: Niraj Chokshi , a reporter at The New York Times covering aviation, rail and other transportation industries. Colleen Burns , a flight attendant for Spirit Airlines. Background reading: Spirit Airlines shuts down after years of struggle. Here’s how the demise of Spirit could help other airlines . Photo: Tom Brenner for The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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What the End of Spirit Airlines Means for the Future of Flying is an episode from The Daily by The New York Times.

This episode is 00:31:55 long.

This episode was published on May 7, 2026.

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