A TikTok personality is attempting to turn internet buzz into a populist takeover bid for Spirit Airlines just days after the ultra-low-cost carrier announced it would cease operations.
According to the New York Post, creator Hunter Peterson posted a viral video claiming he could buy Spirit Airlines through crowdfunding, pitching the idea of reviving the troubled carrier if enough people pledged support. The clip, which has amassed more than 7 million views, framed the effort as a people-powered alternative to the corporate and government mismanagement that has plagued the airline industry.
"This is a genius idea: We nationalize Spirit Airlines, owned by the people. Airlines gone. We make a new airline," Peterson declared in the video, tapping into frustration with both big business and heavy-handed federal regulation. He has since launched letsbuyspiritair.com, where users can submit nonbinding pledges toward a proposed $1.75 billion acquisition.
As of May 9, the site reports more than $337 million in pledged support from 371,552 participants, averaging $907 per pledge, though no actual funds are being collected at this stage. The model is loosely inspired by the NFLs Green Bay Packers, whose unique public ownership structure has long appealed to Americans skeptical of centralized corporate control.
"This started as a joke and this is rapidly going out of control in the best possible way," Peterson said in a follow-up video, as users were invited to indicate a desired ownership stake in a reimagined Spirit. The airline, which announced on May 2 that it would shut down after failed restructuring efforts and an inability to secure additional funding, has pledged refunds for all unused booked flights.
"For more than 30 years, Spirit Airlines has played a pioneering role in making travel more accessible and bringing people together while driving affordability across the industry," Spirit CEO Dave Davis said in a statement, underscoring how its collapse leaves a gap in low-cost travel that grassroots, market-driven experiments like Petersons are now attempting to fill.
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