AVIATION CONSUMER PROTECTION

Editorial illustration showing a single white airplane taking off down a runway between two large fields of grounded yellow Spirit Airlines aircraft on either side, viewed from behind, illustrating how thousands of Spirit Airlines passengers were left stranded after the carrier's shutdown while one rescue flight departs without them

Spirit Airlines’ death shows why we need better passenger protections

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Tens of thousands of Spirit Airlines passengers discovered their tickets were worthless this week after the carrier collapsed. JetBlue is reportedly in financial distress and several ultralow-cost carriers including Frontier, Allegiant, and Avelo have lined up at the federal aid window. Before deregulation in 1978, Rule 240 required airlines to put stranded passengers on a competitor’s next available flight at no extra cost. Congress brought a version back as Section 145 of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act after 9/11, but it expired in 2005. The DOT issued Order 2026-5-1 encouraging rescue fares but cannot compel airlines to honor competitor tickets without congressional action.

Editorial illustration showing a thin man with brown hair and round glasses standing with arms crossed next to two orange roller suitcases on an airport tarmac with palm trees and a small white airplane visible in the background, illustrating a passenger left stranded after an airline schedule change forced him to buy replacement flights at his own expense

Aeromexico offered him a “free” flight change. Then it refused to give him one.

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Jorrit Muller booked Aeromexico flight 335 from Puerto Vallarta to Orlando for a wedding. Three months before departure, Aeromexico shifted his flight one hour earlier, into the reception time. The airline notified him that if the new flight did not work, he could move to another at no additional cost. When he tried to use that offer through Aeromexico’s WhatsApp support, the available flights were operated by Delta as code-share. An agent told him to request a refund instead, then Aeromexico denied the refund. Under DOT rules, a significant change for international travel requires a schedule shift of six hours or more.