The Best Next Move for Spirit Airlines Employees

I want to speak directly to the men and women of Spirit Airlines. 

On May 2nd, at 3 a.m., the doors closed. The flights stopped. Health insurance is gone. Benefits disappeared. And for many of you, careers that spanned decades ended without warning.  

For people like Cindy Williams, a 27-year flight attendant who said she felt like everything she had built was gone in a single day; this is not an abstract business story. This is personal.  

I know what it feels like when the ground disappears beneath you. 

On January 15, 2009, I was on US Airways Flight 1549 when both engines went silent over New York City. In that moment, everything I thought was certain stopped being certain. The path I had planned no longer existed. What replaced it was something I had not chosen and could not control. 

What I learned that day, and in every hard moment since, is that your best next step matters more than the moment that just happened to you. 

About 17,000 Spirit employees lost their jobs, some with over 25 years of service, many learning of the shutdown through media reports. That kind of loss is real. Grief is real. The shock is real. Do not rush past it. Acknowledge what this is. 

But when you are ready, and you will be ready, here is the framework I used that day on the Hudson and would like to offer you. 

Acknowledge Reality 

The first step is the hardest. You must look at what is true without flinching. 

You did not fail. An industry, an economy, and a set of circumstances outside your control created this moment. The work you put in was real. The skills you built were real. The service you gave to millions of passengers was real. 

What happened does not erase any of that. It does not define your value, your capability, or your future. 

Acknowledge the loss. Give yourself permission to feel it. And then make a decision that the story does not end here or define you.  

Scan for Options 

Here is what most people do in a crisis. They freeze on what they lost instead of scanning what is available. 

I want you to do something different. Write down every skill you have developed in this role. Pilots. You have flight hours, certifications, and operational discipline that most industries would pay significantly for. Flight attendants. You have crisis management, customer service under pressure, conflict resolution, and composure in chaos. Ground crews and operations staff. You understand logistics, safety protocols, and real-time problem solving at a level that translates directly into aviation, defense, transportation, and supply chain industries. 

The aviation industry is still hiring. Major carriers have been raising fares and cutting unprofitable routes, which means they are consolidating talent and looking for experienced professionals. Your experience is not a liability. It is a credential. Go find the rooms where it is valued. 

Beyond aviation, look at every transferable skill you have and ask a different question. Not, “who will hire a former Spirit employee?” Ask instead, “who needs someone who can stay calm when everything is moving fast, and the stakes are high?” 

That answer opens more doors than you might think right now. 

Select the Best Next Step 

Not the perfect next step. The best available one right now. 

Waiting for the ideal opportunity while the bills are coming is not a strategy. It is a trap. The best next step is the one that moves you forward today, even if it is not the destination. 

Take the call. Update the resume. Reach out to someone you flew with for ten years who is now somewhere else. Go to the industry job boards. Contact your union representatives. Connect with the Employee Assistance Program resources that have been made available to you. 

One step. One conversation. One application. 

Momentum is built one decision at a time, not one perfect outcome at a time. 

Execute Without Hesitation 

This is where most people stall. 

They have a plan. They know the best next step. And then doubt creeps in. They wonder if they are too old, too specialized, too tied to one industry. They wonder if anyone will see the value in what they bring. 

Do not let that voice run the room. 

You spent years executing under pressure at 35,000 feet, in delayed terminals, in weather events, in moments where the margin for error was zero. That is not a narrow skill set. That is a rare one. 

Execute. Send the message. Make the call. Show up for the interview. Do not wait until you feel ready. Move while you are still uncertain, because the action is what creates clarity. 

Support Others 

One of the most powerful things I have seen in moments of collective crisis is what happens when people who are going through the same storm decide to take care of each other. 

You have 17,000 people right now who understand exactly what you are feeling because they are living it too. That network is not a reminder of what was lost. It is one of the most valuable resources you have right now. 

Share job leads. Make introductions. Tell someone when you hear of an opening. Pass along a contact. Write a LinkedIn recommendation for a colleague whose work you witnessed for years. 

The people who recover fastest from hard landings are rarely the ones who go it alone. They are the ones who stayed connected, stayed generous, and stayed invested in the people around them. 

Just like that day on the Hudson, you have to keep moving! 

Stay Calm. Move Fast. 

These are not opposites. 

Staying calm does not mean pretending this is fine. It means not letting the panic of this moment make decisions for your future. It means slowing down long enough to assess before you react and then moving with intention once you know your direction. 

The aviation world taught you something most people never learn. You can be in a high-pressure situation and still perform. You can be surrounded by uncertainty and still execute. You can face something you did not choose and still find the path forward. 

That is not just a job skill. That is a life skill. 

And right now, it is the most important thing you have. 

The Bottom Line 

I have spoken to leaders, executives, and high performers all over the world about what it means to perform when failure is not an option. And here is what I know to be true. 

Your greatest moments of resilience rarely come when things are going well. They come in the moments that knock you down and dare you to get back up. 

This is one of those moments. 

You built something for years. You served passengers who needed to get home, get to funerals, get to weddings, and get to hospital beds. You showed up in the early mornings and late nights and in the middle of storms. That character does not disappear because a company did. 

Take what you built. Take the skills, discipline, composure, and the years of service. And go find the next place where those things matter. 

Because they do matter. 

And so do you. 

Your story is not over. 

It just changed altitude.