I landed at FLL early this morning and the atmosphere felt strangely quiet. No packed roadways, no long waits for an Uber, and something immediately felt different. Even with other airlines operating as usual, the familiar yellow and black Spirit aircraft seemed to be missing.
Those planes always felt like a symbol that air travel was still accessible for regular people. For travelers watching costs, myself included, they represented an affordable way to get from place to place. At FLL especially, it sometimes felt like the smaller underdog airline had a stronger presence than the larger carriers.
I'm heading to Dania Pointe later tonight for a comedy show, and it also has me wondering what happens if Spirit's office presence and spending around the area disappear.
It's interesting because people often forget that Spirit was actually a profitable business through 2019. I could easily imagine it becoming a business school case study someday.
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