2026-04-23T21:21:00-0400 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
美国总统特朗普周四表示，他正考虑由纳税人出资收购精神航空，计划在油价下跌后将这家陷入困境的廉价航空公司转售获利。
此前一名律师向美国破产法院透露，精神航空正与美国政府就一项融资协议进行深入谈判，该协议将帮助该航空公司脱离第11章破产保护。特朗普证实了他持续对为精神航空提供财政援助抱有兴趣。
“他们有不错的飞机和优质资产，等油价下跌后，我们可以出售它获利，”特朗普在椭圆形办公室一场无关的活动上说道，“我很乐意保住这些工作岗位，也很乐意挽救一家航空公司。”
“如果能拿到合适的价格，我们就会出手，以此保住工作，”总统补充道。
周二特朗普曾鼓励买家救助精神航空，并暗示联邦政府可以提供协助维持其运营，此番言论引发了外界对双方达成救助协议的猜测。
白宫试图将精神航空的困境归咎于拜登政府——拜登政府在2023年起诉阻止捷蓝航空以38亿美元收购精神航空。在特朗普接替拜登就任总统一年多前，达拉斯一名联邦法官叫停了精神航空与捷蓝航空的拟议合并案，称此举将推高乘客的机票价格。
特朗普表示，他心中已有一位“精明人士”可以执掌精神航空，并相信该航空公司能够重新实现稳健的财务状况。
“他们还有一些非常宝贵的航班时刻，”总统补充道，他指的是在机场需求超过可用容量时，分配给航空公司的起降预约时段。
特朗普周四发表上述言论后，精神航空总裁兼首席执行官戴夫·戴维斯在一份声明中表示：“我们感谢特朗普总统的支持，并期待继续与他及其政府合作，寻求既能保护数千个工作岗位、维护并增强竞争，又能确保美国人继续负担得起机票价格的解决方案。”
精神航空多年来一直深陷亏损。该航空公司分别于2024年11月和2025年8月两次申请第11章破产保护。受伊朗战争影响，所有航空公司的喷气燃料成本均上涨，本月早些时候，债权人对精神航空的持续运营能力表示质疑，使得这家以亮黄色飞机为标志的航空公司有可能被迫出售资产并停止运营。
在特朗普提及政府直接收购该航空公司之前，代表精神航空的戴维斯·波尔克律师事务所律师马歇尔·休伯纳在纽约的一场美国破产法院听证会上表示，政府融资将使重组成为可能，并帮助精神航空提升竞争力。
休伯纳表示，潜在交易的细节已向该公司的三个主要债权人团体披露。
目前尚不清楚联邦政府收购案与此前讨论的条款有何不同，融资援助的规模和条款并未公开。
哥伦比亚广播公司本周早些时候报道称，特朗普政府正与精神航空就救助计划进行深入谈判。据熟悉谈判情况的消息人士透露，一揽子融资计划可能包括最高5亿美元的贷款，作为交换，联邦政府将获得认股权证，从而可能持有大量股权。
尽管联邦政府曾在9·11事件后和新冠疫情期间整体救助航空业，但单独救助一家航空公司实属罕见之举。
精神航空总部位于佛罗里达州劳德代尔堡，雇佣约1.5万名员工，其中约6000人驻扎在佛罗里达州。
“有很多人在精神航空工作，我们行业内都很关心精神航空的员工，”美国运输部长肖恩·达菲本周早些时候对哥伦比亚广播公司表示，“问题在于，我们能否采取措施拯救精神航空并使其恢复 viability？或者说，我们是否会把钱投入到最终必然会清算的公司？我们的团队正在研究这个问题，总统也将听取相关简报，我们将共同做出决定。”
多名两党议员也对救助计划表示反对。得克萨斯州共和党参议员特德·克鲁兹周三在X平台上写道，收购精神航空将是一个“糟糕的主意”。
“如果精神航空的债权人或其他潜在投资者都认为，在不到两年内第二次破产后，他们无法实现盈利运营，那我怀疑美国政府也做不到，”阿肯色州共和党参议员汤姆·科顿在X平台上发帖称，“这并不是纳税人资金的最佳用途。”
另一方面，代表该航空公司飞行员的工会对救助计划表示“强烈支持”。
“精神航空让众多美国人能够负担得起探亲、商务旅行或度假的费用，”精神航空航空飞行员协会总执行委员会主席瑞安·P·穆勒上尉表示，“精神航空进入某个市场后，机票价格就会下降。”
截至去年年底，精神航空拥有48架飞机，租赁了另外83架，均为空客A320家族机型。作为破产重组的一部分，该航空公司上月宣布计划在今年第三季度将机队规模缩减至76至80架。截至去年，该航空公司还拥有18台备用发动机，租赁了16台。
精神航空相对较新的机队使其成为颇具吸引力的收购目标。但在精神航空首次破产前后，捷蓝航空和边疆航空等廉价竞争对手的收购尝试均以失败告终。
本文亦有其他报道人员供稿。
Trump confirms he’s weighing a taxpayer takeover of Spirit Airlines “for the right price”
2026-04-23T21:21:00-0400 / CBS/AP
President Trump said Thursday that he was weighing a taxpayer-funded takeover of Spirit Airlines with the intent of reselling the struggling budget carrier after oil prices drop.
The president confirmed his continued interest in offering Spirit a financial lifeline after a lawyer told a U.S. Bankruptcy Court that the airline was in advanced talks with the U.S. government on a financing deal that would allow Spirit to emerge from Chapter 11 protection.
“They have some good aircraft and good assets, and when the prices of oil goes down, we’ll sell it for a profit,” Mr. Trump said, speaking at an unrelated Oval Office event. “I’d love to be able to save those jobs. I’d love to be able to save an airline.”
“And we’re looking, if we could get it for the right price, I’d do it to save the jobs,” the president said.
Mr. Trump stoked speculation of a deal to save Spirit on Tuesday when he encouraged a buyer to rescue the airline and suggested the federal government could help keep it afloat.
The White House has attempted to blame Spirit’s predicament on the Biden administration, which in 2023 sued to stop JetBlue Airways from buying Spirit for $3.8 billion. A little more than a year before Mr. Trump replaced Joe Biden as president, a federal judge in Dallas blocked a proposed Spirit-JetBlue merger, saying it would drive up airfares for passengers.
The president said he had “a smart person” in mind who could potentially run Spirit and that he believed the airline could get back on solid financial footing.
“And they have some very good slots too, which are pretty valuable,” the president added, referring to scheduled times allocated for airlines to take off or land at airports when demand exceeds available capacity.
Following the president’s comments Thursday, Spirit Airlines President & CEO Dave Davis said in a statement: “We are grateful for President Trump’s support and look forward to continuing to work with him and his Administration on a solution that protects thousands of jobs, preserves and enhances competition and helps ensure Americans continue to have access to affordable fares.”
Spirit has struggled with losses for years. The airline filed for Chapter 11 protection in November 2024 and again in August 2025. With the Iran war driving up jet fuel costs for all airlines, creditors earlier this month expressed doubts about Spirit’s ongoing viability, raising the possibility that the airline recognized for its bright yellow planes would be forced to sell its assets and cease operating.
Before Mr. Trump’s comments about the government buying the airline outright, Marshall Huebner, a lawyer with Davis Polk who is representing Spirit, said during a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing in New York that government financing would make a reorganization possible and help Spirit be more competitive.
Details of a potential deal were shared with all three of the company’s primary creditor groups, Huebner said.
It was not immediately clear how a federal acquisition would differ from the terms that were under discussion. The size and terms of the financing aid were not shared publicly.
CBS News reported earlier this week that the Trump administration is in advanced discussions with Spirit about a bailout. A financing package could include a loan of up to $500 million, in exchange for warrants that would allow the federal government to take a potentially substantial ownership stake, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.
While the federal government has stepped in to help the airline industry broadly in the aftermath of 9/11 and during the COVID-19 pandemic, propping up a single carrier is an unusual move.
Spirit Airlines is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and employs about 15,000 people. About 6,000 of those employees are based in Florida.
“A lot of people work for Spirit. We care about the people that work for Spirit in this industry,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CBS News earlier this week. “The question will be, can we do anything to save Spirit and make it viable, or would we be putting good money into a company that inevitably is gonna be liquidated? And that’s a decision that our teams look at and the president has to be briefed on and, and we’ll make a decision together.”
Several lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, also balked at the idea of a bailout. GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas wrote on X on Wednesday that a deal for Spirit would be a “terrible idea.”
“If Spirit’s creditors or other potential investors don’t think they can run it profitably coming out of its second bankruptcy in under two years, I doubt the US Government can either,” Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, posted on X. “Not the best use of taxpayer dollars.”
The union that represents the airline’s pilots, on the other hand, voiced “strong support” for a rescue deal.
“Spirit is the reason so many Americans can afford to visit family, travel for work, or take a vacation,” said Capt. Ryan P. Muller, chair of the Spirit Airlines ALPA Master Executive Council. “When Spirit enters a market, fares go down.”
As of the end of last year, Spirit owned 48 planes and leased another 83, all of which were part of the Airbus A320 family. It announced plans last month to reduce its total fleet to 76 to 80 planes by the third quarter of this year, as part of its bankruptcy restructuring process. The airline also owned 18 spare engines and had 16 under lease as of last year.
Spirit’s relatively young fleet has made it an attractive acquisition target. But previous buyout attempts from budget rivals like JetBlue and Frontier were unsuccessful both before and during Spirit’s first bankruptcy.
contributed to this report.