Hunter Peterson's TikTok rally draws pledges to buy collapsed Spirit Airlines

9 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · May 3

By Sunday, 36,000 founding patrons had pledged nearly $23 million after Spirit abruptly cancelled all flights, cut 17,000 jobs and told ticket holders not to come to airports.
Peterson's website, built in about an hour, crashed under demand, but the pledges are non-binding and far short of the billions typically needed to acquire and relaunch an airline.
He has since appealed for aviation lawyers, PR specialists and other help for the tongue-in-cheek Spirit 2.0 effort after the budget carrier's weekend collapse stunned low-fare travellers.

With a major budget airline gone, could a non-profit, fan-owned model be the key to ensuring affordable air travel remains a reality?

Inspired by a football team, can a fan-owned airline overcome the immense regulatory hurdles and billion-dollar realities of the aviation industry?