A crowdfunding website launched to revive Spirit Airlines crashed within days due to overwhelming public response, following the airline's announcement of its shutdown on May 2. The site, letsbuyspiritair.com, was created by TikToker Hunter Peterson after Spirit cited financial hardships from rising fuel prices and canceled all flights.
Spirit Airlines Ceases Operations
Spirit Airlines announced on May 2 that it was ceasing operations, citing financial hardships due to rising fuel prices. All flights were canceled, and customer service was shut down. Spirit President and CEO Dave Davis stated, "Sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not procure. This is tremendously disappointing and not the outcome any of us wanted."
TikToker Launches Crowdfunding Campaign
Hunter Peterson, a TikToker, proposed a crowdfunding idea to save Spirit Airlines. He released a video suggesting people pool money to keep the airline flying. "This is a genius idea: We nationalize Spirit Airlines," Peterson said. "Owned by the people. Airlines gone. We make a new airline." The website letsbuyspiritair.com allowed interested patrons to pledge a share into the proposed ownership, without requiring actual money—just an expression of interest.
Peterson noted, "This started as a joke and this is rapidly going out of control in the best possible way." The website went viral, causing the site to crash within days.
Overwhelming Response
As of May 4, the website reported 124,755 founding patrons who pledged a total of $88,071,428, with an average pledge size of $667. However, these figures are unverified by the website authorities. The site stated, "The movement grew so fast it overwhelmed our servers. We are upgrading infrastructure right now and will be back with full pledge functionality within 24–48 hours. Pledges are temporarily disabled. Follow us for real-time updates on when pledges reopen."
Peterson Seeks Professional Help
In a TikTok video posted on May 3, Peterson announced he was looking to connect with developers to upgrade the pledge website, public relations professionals for news outreach, lawyers with aviation experience, and airline executives for guidance. This move aims to handle the unexpected success of the campaign.
Why Is Hunter Peterson Interested in Saving Spirit Airlines?
Peterson demonstrated his dedication to Spirit Airlines by flying on the carrier for 24 hours straight to create content. In a YouTube video with about 93,000 views, he visited five of Spirit's busiest airports, counting only the time spent on the plane as part of the project. This unique experience fueled his passion to save the airline.
