Greg Rosalsky

For example, Dollar General has struggled as their core consumers spend less.

And something similar has been happening with Spirit.

Budget airlines historically appealed to customers with limited income.

And in our research, we have seen travelers who earn up to $150,000 a year saying they've cut back on their leisure travel.

They are traveling less often.

They are, in some cases, foregoing air travel.

Yeah, and this would be a pretty big reversal from a few years ago when the Department of Justice under President Biden fought to block Spirit from merging with JetBlue and then won in federal court.

There's been some debate about that decision, especially now that Spirit is facing trouble.

Where there's less debate, though, if Spirit were to die, that would likely put less pressure on the big airlines.

So yeah, Spirit may be hated, but a world without it would probably be bad for a lot of passengers, even those who don't like flying with them.

If you picked up a copy of the Planet Money book, thank you so much.

If you haven't, it's in stores now and we're so proud of it.

It's called Planet Money, A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life.

It's in airport bookstores and makes a great read on a plane.

This episode of Planet Money was produced by Emma Peasley and edited by Alex Goldmark.

It was fact-checked by Vito Emanuel and engineered by Jimmy Keeley.

I'm Emma Peasley.

And I'm Greg Wazowski.

This is NPR.

Thanks for listening.