# Does Spirit’s collapse signal the end of cheap flights?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-excerpt-742145/does-spirit-s-collapse-signal-the-end-of-cheap-flights
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-excerpt-742145/does-spirit-s-collapse-signal-the-end-of-cheap-flights.md
Podcast: [The Excerpt](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-excerpt-742145)
Published: 2026-05-12T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://rss.art19.com/episodes/63a5f728-cdea-4c6b-9df4-12ab5cbe7b1c.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0
Audio file: https://rss.art19.com/episodes/63a5f728-cdea-4c6b-9df4-12ab5cbe7b1c.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-excerpt-742145/episodes/does-spirit-s-collapse-signal-the-end-of-cheap-flights
Duration seconds: 888

## Resource

Summer travel season is getting underway. But this year, travelers are facing a perfect storm of new pressures in the airline industry. The budget airline Spirit Airlines has collapsed after years of financial struggles, eliminating one of the country’s biggest low-cost carriers just as millions of Americans prepare to fly for their summer vacation. At the same time, the war in Iran is driving up fuel costs and disrupting global aviation routes, raising concerns about higher ticket prices and fewer options for travelers. Questions remain about what flying will look like in the months ahead — and whether the era of cheap, easy air travel is starting to disappear. USA TODAY Consumer Travel Reporter Zach Wichter joins The Excerpt to talk about what all of this means for summer travelers. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to  podcasts@usatoday.com .  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-excerpt-742145/episodes/does-spirit-s-collapse-signal-the-end-of-cheap-flights/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-excerpt-742145/does-spirit-s-collapse-signal-the-end-of-cheap-flights.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.