A Spirit Airlines pilot was given an emotional send-off into retirement by another airline after what was supposed to be his final flight was canceled amid Spirit’s sudden collapse on Saturday.
Jon Jackson had been scheduled to fly his final flight into Baltimore-Washington international airport on Saturday when the low-cost airline ceased operations after running out of cash and rescue talks with the Trump administration failed.
So instead, Jackson boarded a Southwest flight to get back to Baltimore from Fort Lauderdale. During the flight, his son Chris, a Southwest pilot, “casually mentioned” to the crew that this would have been his dad’s retirement flight, according to a Facebook post shared by Southwest, “setting into motion a plan that resulted in a proper retirement party when the flight landed in Baltimore”.
Southwest staff organized a water cannon salute over the aircraft when it arrived and Jackson was met with cheers, applause and a bottle of bubbly when he walked off the jet bridge.
A delighted Jackson gave a brief speech in the terminal, telling staff: “Very overwhelming, I can’t thank you all enough. As Spirit goes down this is a sad day, and you guys made it incredible, so thank you so much.”
Southwest’s post reads: “It was a powerful reminder of the aviation community’s ability to show respect, compassion, and solidarity when it matters most. Above all, this moment was about honoring a fellow aviator. Congratulations, and thank you for your service in the skies, Capt Jackson.”
Before its collapse, Spirit operated hundreds of daily flights on its bright yellow planes and employed some 17,000 people. But early on Saturday it announced that after 34 years in business it had “with great disappointment … started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately”.
“To our guests: all flights have been canceled, and customer service is no longer available,” the airline said. “We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come.”
The company had struggled to make a deal with its creditors and secure funding to maintain operations after shuttling in and out of bankruptcy twice in recent years. But the sharp rise in jet fuel prices since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran effectively sealed its fate.
The Trump administration floated taking a 90% stake to prevent Spirit’s collapse but the company’s bondholders rebelled.
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