A House Judiciary subcommittee that handles antitrust matters will hold a hearing on June 24 titled "The 30,000 Foot View: Competition and Regulation in the U.S. Airline Industry," examining the state of airline competition and regulation in the wake of Spirit Airlines' collapse last month.
Chris Sununu, the chief executive officer of Airlines for America, is slated to testify at the session. The hearing comes amid partisan debate over recent policy choices and the federal government's response to airline disruptions and corporate distress.
Republican members of the panel are expected to use the hearing to argue that the Biden administration's approach to airline competition did not prevent job losses connected to Spirit's failure. Democrats, by contrast, are likely to focus on actions taken under the Trump administration to roll back aviation consumer protections and to void fines levied against carriers under the Biden administration.
Spirit Airlines collapsed in May after President Donald Trump proposed a $500 million package intended to rescue the carrier. That proposal drew opposition from some of the president's closest advisers and from many Republicans in Congress. Creditors ultimately rejected the rescue package despite intense efforts by the Trump administration to keep Spirit operating. The carrier's collapse led to the loss of roughly 15,000 jobs held by Spirit employees and contractors.
The Trump administration has contended that the prior administration of President Joe Biden contributed to Spirit's demise by blocking a 2024 merger between JetBlue Airways and Spirit. Biden administration officials have rejected that contention.
Spirit had filed for bankruptcy protection twice within a year and had not posted a profit since 2019, according to the material presented to the committee.
Regulatory actions and investigations are also on the agenda. This week, the U.S. Department of Transportation said it closed an investigation into a July 2024 Delta Air Lines operational meltdown that disrupted the travel plans of about 1.3 million customers. Separately, last year the department waived an $11 million fine that had been imposed on Southwest Airlines in connection with the carrier's December 2022 operational collapse during a busy holiday travel period.
In May, the Federal Aviation Administration closed its inquiry into airlines that failed to meet required flight reductions at 40 major airports during the 2025 government shutdown without imposing fines. And in November, the Department of Transportation withdrew a proposal that had been issued under the Biden administration which would have required airlines to provide cash compensation to passengers when carriers are responsible for disruptions to U.S. flights.
The hearing is set against a backdrop of partisan disagreement over where responsibility lies for the industry's recent troubles and how federal regulators should balance enforcement, consumer protections, and competition policy. Lawmakers will hear testimony and seek to frame a narrative about whether past regulatory choices and merger decisions helped precipitate the collapse of carriers or whether other factors were determinative.
What to watch at the hearing
- Testimony from Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu and how industry groups portray competitive dynamics.
- Republican and Democratic lines of argument tying regulatory decisions to job losses and consumer protections.
- References to recent regulatory outcomes, including USDOT and FAA investigations and decisions cited by the panel.