It would require the company to wipe out its shareholders and lose control of the company. This is not a scenario that any management group would pursue willingly to gain advantage. Hopefully it buys time for a sale and the government can sell its equity stake (if it happens at all)

 

all airlines got bail out money. Not just one.

 

There is no mechanism for the executive branch to bail out a single company on its own. Congress would have to approve the money or 500 million would have to be found laying around in some unused fund somewhere.

If this somehow happens it will be immediately challenged in court is my guess.

 

They redirected funds for the Intel purchase. That didn’t require Congress and could be what they attempt to do here.

 

Pushback from Cruz, Thune and Duffy being reported. Would be surprised to see this get pushed through. The optics going into the midterms would be really bad for the R’s.

 

So what’s going to change if spirit gets the 500 mil?

they all of a sudden going to be profitable?

Im all for saving jobs but spirit management squandered profits away for years when every other airline made **** tons of money. That behavior does not deserve a govt handout reward.

 

What’s in it for the taxpayer?

 

While the government has selectively helped other airlines in the past, I believe this would be the first time that the American people would gain such a large equity stake in an airline after giving it a lifeline. Leaving aside the questions of helping one ailing carrier and not all of them, how does the government (FAA, Commerce, EPA, etc.) oversee an entity that it owns? The conflict of interest is mind blowing. I know some will use the example of Chrysler back in the day but while the auto industry is pretty regulated, that amount of regulation pales in comparison to the airline industry. Just consider management positions. Director of Operations and such. The FAA has very strict experience requirements to hold those post and also has the right to reject candidates that it feels are not qualified. What about the financial fitness reports that are required by law. Can a government owned airline ever be found unfit? How is that not a competitive advantage? How does the government not take its stake into account when making those decisions? There are so many landmines here that not even a mouse could make it through.

 

There are quite a few mechanisms that the President could use to lend money without additional Congressional approval. Whether it's untapped preciously approved funding or just simply using Presidential lending authority.

 

More TikTok bawling clips? 🤷‍♂️