Lets Buy Spirit: Fans Promise Millions to Restart the Grounded Airline
Spirit Airlines parked its last jet on May 2, 2026. Within days, a fan campaign called Lets Buy Spirit collected tens of millions of dollars in promised money to bring the yellow planes back. The pledges are not binding, and no cash has changed hands. Still, more than 130,000 people signed up, and the total kept climbing past 335 million dollars within a week.
How the Lets Buy Spirit Campaign Started
Hunter Peterson, a Los Angeles voice actor who posts on TikTok and YouTube as Hi There Hunter, floated the idea in a video shortly after the shutdown. His pitch was simple. If enough Americans each chipped in the price of one old Spirit fare, around 30 to 45 dollars, the public could own the airline together.
The video passed 7 million views. Peterson then launched letsbuyspiritair.com, where visitors could log how much they would put in. Traffic crushed the servers on Monday, May 4, and pledging paused while the team added capacity.
The ownership model borrows from the Green Bay Packers, the only NFL team held by its fans rather than a single investor. Anyone who has played cooperative board games knows the pull of that setup. Everyone at the table wins or loses as one group.
How Much Money Has Lets Buy Spirit Raised?
Nothing, in real terms. Every figure below is a promise, not a payment. The growth curve still tells its own story.
Early counts showed about 23 million dollars from 36,000 people before the first crash. By Monday, the tally reached roughly 88 million, according to Newsweek. Fox Business reported the number passed 335 million within a week, from over 133,000 backers. All totals are self-reported.
Why Spirit Airlines Stopped Flying
The shutdown came with almost no warning. Ticket holders were told to stay home rather than head to the airport.
The collapse had been building for years. Spirit went through Chapter 11 twice, in November 2024 and August 2025. A 3.8 billion dollar merger with JetBlue died after the Justice Department blocked it in court. A 500 million dollar federal rescue deal fell apart when equity holders rejected it.
President and CEO Dave Davis said fuel prices had jumped over recent weeks and stayed high, leaving no option beyond an orderly wind-down. Around 17,000 jobs disappeared. Roughly 200 Airbus A320-family jets now sit in storage.
What the Lets Buy Spirit Plan Would Look Like
Peterson wants Spirit rebuilt as a company the public owns, branded by supporters as The People’s Carrier. Contributors would get a say on major decisions.
Average promised amounts ran between 481 and 623 dollars per person, with a 45 dollar minimum, far above the joke price that started it all. The campaign’s Instagram following passed 100,000 in two days. Shared-goal thinking clearly resonates, the same instinct that fills tables with co-op games built for newcomers rather than solo pursuits.
Can Lets Buy Spirit Actually Work?
Industry analysts put the odds near zero. One aviation outlet estimated a 1.75 billion dollar gap between the pledge totals and the capital needed to meet federal certification standards. Spirit has also stated the campaign has no affiliation with the company and no endorsement from it.
| The idea | The pushback |
|---|---|
| Public ownership with member votes | Purchase and certification costs run into billions |
| Small sums from a huge crowd | Pledges are non-binding and self-reported |
| Fans acting as owners | Spirit has not backed the effort |
| Fleet of ~200 jets sitting idle | Staffing, fuel, and federal approval still required |
Cheap Fares Are the Real Story Behind Lets Buy Spirit
The reaction says plenty about how travelers feel. Ultra-low-cost carriers like Spirit held fares down across the whole market, even for people who booked with other airlines. With Spirit gone, many expect thinner competition and fewer cheap seats while the big carriers add premium cabins.
Backers treat the pledge less as an investment and more as a vote for travel they can afford. It mirrors why family game night picks and other board games for all ages outsell expensive niche hobbies. Low cost of entry keeps everyone in.
What Comes Next for Lets Buy Spirit
Nobody knows where this lands. The site is back up, the counter keeps moving, and Peterson has not laid out a legal path to an actual purchase. The pledge wave itself is the result so far. It shows how much people minded losing one of the country’s best-known budget airlines, and how ready they were to act as a team, the way players do in cooperative adventure titles where the group sinks or swims together.
FAQs
What is the Lets Buy Spirit campaign?
Lets Buy Spirit is a grassroots online drive asking the public to pledge money toward buying Spirit Airlines after its May 2, 2026 shutdown and rebuilding it as a community-owned carrier.
Who started Lets Buy Spirit?
Hunter Peterson, a Los Angeles voice actor and creator known as Hi There Hunter, launched it through a viral TikTok video and the website letsbuyspiritair.com.
How much has Lets Buy Spirit raised?
Pledges passed 335 million dollars from more than 133,000 people within a week of launch. All totals are self-reported and non-binding, and no actual money has been collected.
Is Lets Buy Spirit affiliated with Spirit Airlines?
No. Spirit Airlines has stated the campaign is not affiliated with or endorsed by the company in any way.
Can Lets Buy Spirit actually buy the airline?
Experts say it is unlikely. Buying and running an airline would require billions of dollars, federal certification, aircraft, and staff, far beyond the current pledge totals.
