A Spirit Airlines boycott raging on social media is gaining steam after the airline acknowledged the situation regarding a dying Marine, but refused to back down and reverse its policy in the once instance being addressed by the boycott.
The fracas began last week, when 76-year-old Jerry Meekins was refused a refund by the airline. Spirit Airlines, like most other airlines, charges in advance for the right to cancel one’s ticket should a situation arise that requires an itinerary revision.
Meekins- who has terminal esophageal cancer- purchased a ticket to travel to New Jersey to be with his daughter during surgery. But before the Spirit Airlines flight from Florida to New Jersey, Meekins doctor advised him that he was too ill to fly, and the dying former Marine was forced to drive instead.
Spirit Airlines refused to refund the cost of his ticket, citing fairness to all the other people who paid the fee, prompting the boycott on Facebook and other social media sites. And while action such as the Spirit Airlines boycott usually prompts a concession from the company being protested, Spirit’s CEO has scroogishly refused to back down in the face of public pressure, citing the fact that others are forced to pay the fee.
In an interview, Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza stood by the unpopular decision to refund the vet (who was forced to spend an additional $300 in gas to make the trip), explaining :
“Had we done that, I think it really would’ve been cheating all the people who actually bought the insurance,” he said. “And I think that’s fundamentally unfair.”
In the wake of the Spirit Airlines boycott, the airline did offer the dying former Marine a concession in the form of future travel vouchers- kind of a slap in the face if his condition is unlikely to improve.
