In one of the most bizarre — and oddly American — business stories of the year, a 22-year-old TikTok creator has managed to rally more than $337 million in public pledges to try to buy bankrupt Spirit Airlines and bring it back to life.
Yes, really.
Hunter Peterson, a voice actor and social media creator known for filming himself flying Spirit for 24 consecutive hours last year, launched the idea shortly after the airline officially shut down operations on May 2. What started as an internet joke quickly snowballed into a massive online movement, with more than 370,000 people signaling support for a public co-op style takeover of the airline.
Peterson’s pitch is simple: if enough Americans each contribute roughly the cost of a Spirit ticket — about $45 — the public could theoretically buy the airline themselves. He points to the Green Bay Packers ownership model, where hundreds of thousands of fans collectively own shares in the team.
Because apparently in 2026, Americans trust TikTok crowdsourcing more than corporate executives. And honestly, after watching some airline CEOs over the years, can you really blame them?
There’s just one major detail: no actual money has been collected yet.
The pledges on Peterson’s website are currently nonbinding, meaning supporters are only expressing interest rather than making real financial commitments. Still, the numbers have exploded fast enough to grab national attention and spark serious discussions about whether a grassroots airline revival could even be possible.
Spirit ended 34 years of operations earlier this month after shutting down at 3 a.m. on May 2, leaving thousands of workers unemployed and travelers stranded with canceled tickets. The airline had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice — first in November 2024 and again in August 2025 — while carrying approximately $8.1 billion in debt against $8.6 billion in assets.
A previous $500 million rescue effort from President Donald Trump’s administration reportedly fell apart after creditors rejected terms that would have given the federal government a controlling stake in the company.
Peterson insists he has no interest in personally running the airline and says he’s already seeking experienced aviation executives to manage operations if the effort somehow succeeds. He has also reportedly met with Spirit’s flight attendants union and secured legal funding to begin assembling a formal bid. The campaign currently lists a $1.75 billion fundraising target.
Still, legal experts say the obstacles are enormous. John Coffee Jr. noted that SEC crowdfunding rules severely limit how much money can legally be raised from ordinary investors, while larger private investment structures are generally restricted to wealthy accredited investors.
In other words, turning a viral TikTok movement into a functioning airline may be far more difficult than posting memes and collecting online promises.
But even with the odds stacked high, the story has clearly struck a chord with Americans frustrated by corporate failures, government bureaucracy, and the constant disappearance of affordable travel options. Whether the plan ultimately succeeds or crashes on the runway, it’s another reminder that ordinary people are increasingly looking for unconventional ways to challenge broken systems.
And in today’s America, sometimes the craziest ideas are the ones that get people paying attention.