--- title: "Spirit Airlines Shut Down—Then A Fan's 'Packers-Style' Buyout Plan Drew $88 Million In Pledges" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/285068680.md" description: "Spirit Airlines has ceased operations, prompting a fan-led crowdfunding initiative to buy the airline, amassing over $88 million in pledges. The campaign, inspired by the Green Bay Packers' ownership model, aims to prevent hedge fund involvement. The initiative, dubbed \"Spirit 2.0,\" allows fans to become shareholders with a minimum pledge of $45. The airline's closure has sparked political criticism, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren blaming rising fuel prices and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attributing issues to the previous administration's actions regarding a merger with JetBlue." datetime: "2026-05-04T11:57:36.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/285068680.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285068680.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/285068680.md) --- # Spirit Airlines Shut Down—Then A Fan's 'Packers-Style' Buyout Plan Drew $88 Million In Pledges A **Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc.** (OTC:FLYYQ) fan kicked off a crowdsourcing endeavor to buy the budget airline operator after it ceased its operations as creditors refused to support a government-backed $500 million rescue plan. ## Green Bay Packers Models **Hunter Peterson**, a fan of the airline, kicked off the fundraiser as a joke, according to a Business Insider report on Sunday, which has since gathered steam. The official website, dubbed “Spirit 2.0,” shared that over $88,071,428 had been unverified pledges had been made to the fundraiser before it crashed. **Read Also: Sean Duffy Says Spirit Collapse Was 'Self-Made,' Rejects Iran War Blame** The website illustrates that the Spirit 2.0 model would be based on the National Football League (NFL) team **Green Bay Packers**, which is owned by over 360,000 fans who act as shareholders. “No billionaire can move the team. No hedge fund can gut it for parts,” the website said. “Owned by us,” the official website says. Peterson’s post on the social media platform Instagram went viral and has amassed over 321,000 likes, as well as 5.6 million views. A minimum pledge of $45 is required to become a shareholder in the Spirit 2.0 model and the website says that “every verified member gets one vote” no matter how much they contribute. ## Elizabeth Warren Criticizes Trump Over Spirit Following Spirit’s collapse, Sen. **Elizabeth Warren** (D-Mass) criticized President **Donald Trump**, saying that the ongoing war with Iran had resulted in skyrocketing fuel prices that have led to the budget airline ceasing its operations. On the other hand, Treasury Secretary **Scott Bessent**, in turn, blamed the previous **Joe Biden** administration for preventing a merger between Spirit and **JetBlue Airways Cor**p (NASDAQ:JBLU) in 2024. Spirit isn’t the only low-cost operator facing challenges due to rising fuel prices. Budget airline operators **Frontier Group Holdings Inc.** (NASDAQ:ULCC) and **Avelo** were reportedly among a group of airlines seeking a $2.5 billion relief package from the Trump administration to offset the impact of rising jet fuel costs. **Read Also: Trump Doubles Down On Spirit, Says US Could Acquire Airline And Sell It For A 'Profit' When Oil Falls: 'Virtually Debt-Free'** _Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by_ following this link _Image via Shutterstock_ ### Related Stocks - [FLYYQ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FLYYQ.US.md) - [SAVEQ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SAVEQ.US.md) - [JBLU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/JBLU.US.md) - [ULCC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ULCC.US.md) - [FLYY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FLYY.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [More airlines could follow Spirit into bankruptcy due to the Iran war fuel crisis, Ryanair exec says](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286762513.md) - [‘I’d Love to Be Able to Save an Airline,’ Says Trump About Spirit. But Is There Any Saving FLYYQ Stock?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284643824.md) - [Former Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero is under investigation linked to airline bailout](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287039440.md) - [Sununu: Spirit Airlines closure was a lesson to approve mergers when 'somebody is putting up a red flag'](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287098330.md) - [Trump plans Spirit announcement as airline lays plans to shutter](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284927350.md)