It’s been around two weeks since Spirit Airlines abruptly cancelled its flights and ceased operations, leaving customers and employees in a lurch. Here’s the latest details about the fallout from the airline’s closure.
While JetBlue pitched in to help the stranded Spirit travelers, Papa Johns offered some relief to the loyalty program members in the shape of large pizzas.
“Loyalty points don’t mean much if you can’t use them,” said Shivram Vaideeswaran, SVP of Brand Marketing at Papa Johns in a press release about the offer. “While we can’t fix cancelled flights or lost membership points, hopefully we can provide a smile and a delicious pizza to those impacted.”
To qualify for the “Skies to Pies” offer, loyalty customers were asked to direct message Papa Johns on Instagram with proof that they were part of Spirit’s rewards program and Papa Johns’ rewards program. However, only 250 of the pizzas were offered.
“That’s it? Lame,” commented one Instagram user whose comment was still up on Saturday. By then, Papa Johns had announced that all of the offers had been filled.
CBS News reported May 4 that most customers with Spirit flight tickets had been reimbursed.
As for the employees left scrambling for work after Spirit’s closure, ABC News reported that a lawsuit was filed on their behalf this week in the Southern District of New York. That suit claims that Spirit violated labor laws with its sudden closure, reducing the workforce by an estimated 17,000 employees without notice, citing the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN Act.
“According to the complaint, Spirit Airlines ceased operations and informed employees the same day in an email from company leadership,” ABC said. It also reported that the complaint alleges that Spirit employees lost access to benefits and company systems along with their jobs, even those who were still owed vacation and sick pay.
According to ABC News, Spirit Airlines declined to comment on the complaint when reached by the outlet this week.
