Budget airlines are rarely loved by passengers. Cutting costs to the bone and charging for every conceivable extra makes for cheap fares but often unpleasant journeys. Few will therefore have much sympathy for the tribulations of Spirit Airlines, perhaps America’s most despised low-cost carrier (lcc), which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 18th. Yet its failure, which illustrates the parlous state of America’s budget airlines, should worry travellers.