U.S. President Donald Trump has called for someone to step in and help troubled Spirit Airlines while speaking out against a potential merger of two other US carriers.
Trump said Tuesday that he does not like a potential tie-up between United Airlines and American Airlines.
“I don’t mind mergers,” Trump said. “But with American, it’s doing fine, and United is doing very well. I know the United people, they’re doing very well. I don’t like having them merge.”
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby had pitched the potential for merging with American Airlines in a meeting with Trump in late February, sources said last week.
American said Friday that it is not interested in a merger with United.
A combination of two of the largest U.S. network carriers would mark the biggest consolidation in more than a decade, further tightening a domestic market already dominated by four similarly sized players.
Including international flights, United and American were already the world’s two largest airlines by available capacity in 2025, according to OAG data.
Spirit Airlines is a different story.
“I’d love somebody to buy Spirit. It’s 14,000 jobs, and maybe the federal government should help that one out,” Trump told CNBC.
The airline has asked the Trump administration for an emergency bailout as it faces the threat of liquidation over rising fuel costs caused by the Iran war.
Last week, Reuters reported Spirit’s bankruptcy exit plan is under renewed pressure after a sharp rise in jet fuel prices undermined key assumptions behind its restructuring.
The Biden administration went to court to block a proposed merger between Spirit and JetBlue in 2024, saying the combination would harm competition and raise fares. The move has since come under fire from Republicans as Spirit has struggled financially.
