Trump wants buyer for Spirit, pans United-American merger

Hadriana Lowenkron, Bloomberg News on Apr 21, 2026

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President Donald Trump said he would like to see a buyer emerge for Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc. and was open to the government coming to the aid of the airline, while opposing a merger between American Airlines Group Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc.

“Spirit’s in trouble, and I’d love somebody to buy Spirit,” Trump said Tuesday in an interview on CNBC, adding “maybe the federal government should help that one out” given there are 14,000 jobs at stake.

The president’s comments come as Spirit has considered offering the U.S. government an equity stake in the discount carrier to help stave off its potential liquidation, according to people familiar with the matter.

Spirit shares rose by as much as 178% on Tuesday after the president’s comments. Shares of United and American were both lower.

Trump’s remarks on United’s possible interest in American are his first on the topic since Bloomberg News reported last week that United Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby laid out the possibility of a combination to the president in February.

American has since said it’s not engaged with or interested in any discussions with United. Kirby and his company, which report earnings later on Tuesday, haven’t commented on the reports.

“I told my people, but, but with American — it’s doing fine, and United is doing very well,” Trump said in the interview with CNBC. “I know the United people, they’re doing very well. I don’t like having them merge.”

Earlier: United CEO Pitched Trump on Possible Tie-Up With Rival American

“It’s just like all of these aerospace — defense companies and aerospace companies, we used to have hundreds of them, and now we have, like, a very small number, and you get one bid, and it makes them lazy,” he said.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, speaking at an event Tuesday in Washington, said he planned to have a conversation with Trump later in the day about Spirit.

“The president says, ‘Take a look.’ And he is my boss,” Duffy said. “So we will take a look.”

Airlines around the world are grappling with higher jet fuel prices from the U.S.-Iran war, uncertainty that has again raised questions about consolidation. On Monday, Alaska Air Group Inc. suspended its full-year profit guidance and forecast a deeper loss than Wall Street expects for the second quarter. American Airlines reports earnings later this week.

Spirit is seeking an infusion of cash from the U.S. government during a spike in jet fuel prices, according to people familiar with the deliberations, who asked not to be named given the discussions are confidential.

The carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2025 — the second time it had to do so in under a year.

—With assistance from Josh Wingrove, Matt Turner and Allyson Versprille.

(Updates with new market data, Duffy remarks starting in fourth paragraph)