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Abbi Carson's avatar

I’m currently a student in an economics class, and I was struggling to fully understand this because I thought so many people flocked to the low cost airline model. This article explained it really well. Great job, and thank you!

Jadrian Wooten's avatar

I'm always blown away by just how big the Big 4 airlines really are. They dwarf everyone else. Thanks for reading, Abbi!

The Brand Lab 360's avatar

The asymmetric information argument here is the cleanest version of the shutdown logic I've seen. The piece worth pairing with it is the operational layer underneath. The reason Spirit's leadership couldn't announce ahead is that even an internal warning leaks within minutes, and the moment the leak hits credit-card processors, they demand cash collateral against future refunds. That collateral comes out of the same operating account that pays fuel suppliers. The honest email doesn't predict the death — it causes it, faster and messier than any controlled exit.

The shutdown rule explains why the math forced an exit. The leak dynamic explains why the exit had to happen at 3 AM with no warning. Both true. Different layers of the same system. The bankruptcy bar has a name for the choreography: "orderly process." The order is for the creditors. The process is for everyone else.

TJ's avatar

Can Carnival Cruise lines be far behind?

JD Champagne's avatar

Who could've predicted this?? Except, of course, anyone who was paying attention