Spirit’s demise only exacerbated a worsening financial landscape for travelers. The war in Iran — which the U.S. launched in February — triggered an Iranian blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for oil and other energy products. The cost of jet fuel is affected by oil prices, and it shot up in the war’s aftermath.
How to find low-cost airfares for Thanksgiving
Nearly six million Americans flew domestically last year for Thanksgiving, making it the busiest holiday travel season in the last 15 years. Booking before Halloween is suggested in order to snatch lower ticket prices, since flights and hotels start filling up closer to the holidays.
Hopper suggested maintaining flexibility while arranging a November travel schedule. The travel site also noted that the most expensive round trip departs on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving with a returning flight the following Sunday. Many travelers book that schedule, making it a popular, and therefore costly, option.
Travelers could save as much as $250 on a round-trip flight if they decide to return on the Monday or Tuesday of the following week, the Hopper analysis revealed.
New York City, Miami and Orlando are some of the most popular Thanksgiving destinations, according to Hopper. Price drops are possible in the 48 hours before the holidays, but taking advantage of this will require both flexibility and a bit of nerve on the traveler’s part.
Spirit’s rivals take its place
Spirit was known for allowing perks to be available for purchase, such as bringing a carry-on bag onboard a flight.
“If you wanted to travel cheaply, you could travel on Spirit very, very inexpensively,” Joshua Sheats, host of the Radical Personal Finance podcast, told USA Today. “If you wanted all of the perks that you get with a full-service carrier, you could go ahead and purchase those perks.”
It didn’t take long for competitors to move into the territory once dominated by Spirit. Breeze Airways, another discount carrier, swiftly took over most of Spirit’s old routes at Atlantic City International Airport in New Jersey, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Allegiant Air and Frontier Airlines are two other discount carriers with an extensive domestic footprint. In July, JetBlue Airways announced it was expanding service out of Fort Lauderdale, a former Spirit travel hub, and launched eight new non-stop destinations with another six routes planned.
Joseph Zeballos-Roig is a policy and politics journalist based in Washington D.C with a focus on economics. He is experienced in connecting the significance of events in the capital to the lives of everyday Americans whether its taxes, tariffs, interest rates or federal programs.
