Little Guys Continue to Fall as Four Major US Carriers Grow Their Dominance

In late December, just a month after the breakdown of famously low-cost Spirit Airlines, Silver Airways filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This trend is bad news for those looking to avoid the major carriers for their next tropical vacation.

In the US, the airline industry is dominated by four major players: American, Delta, United, and Southwest. American Airlines stands as the largest carrier in not just America, but the world with its nearly 1,600 aircraft and 5,625 daily flights. Delta and United are similar in fleet size and both come in at around 4,100 trips per day. Southwest sits just off the global podium with more than 3,700 daily flights and approximately 828 aircraft.

From there, the statistics take a deep dive. Alaska Airlines, now merged with Hawaiian Airlines, operates just over 1,000 flights per day. Other US carriers, including JetBlue, Frontier, and Allegiant, have been left in the dust and are starting to feel the effects. These challenges got significantly stronger when the Covid-19 pandemic surged in 2020.

Unfortunately for Spirit, which previously held the title as 7th biggest American carrier, the oligopoly was too much to handle. Spirit has been in a state of financial panic for the last four-or-so years, having not produced an annual profit since 2019. It has since lost over $2.5 billion and faces more than $1 billion in debt payments.

Spirit spent the last several years scrambling for a way out, even attempting to merge with JetBlue. This was blocked by federal judges - ironically, due to threats of monopolization - in January 2024. The low-cost carrier laid off staff, sold aircraft, and had another potential acquisition fall through before eventually deciding that filing for bankruptcy was its only option.

Just over a month after Spirit Airlines collapsed, regional carrier Silver Airways filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Silver has had it coming ever since it racked up a seven-figure debt with its hub, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), in 2023. The last straw seemed to be when American Airlines ditched their codeshare partnership in Spring 2024.

Silver Airways will continue serving flights and hopes to finalize its bankruptcy process before 2025 ends.

FMI: www.silverairways.com, www.spirit.com