The Association of Value Airlines (AVA), a trade group representing U.S. ultralow-cost carriers, confirmed that it is lobbying the Trump administration for up to $2.5 billion in financial assistance.
The AVA's members are Frontier, Avelo, Spirit, Allegiant and Sun Country. Its proposal was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, citing anonymous sources.
"Since February, jet fuel prices have increased by nearly 100% and are placing significant financial pressure on value airlines. AVA and its members are committed to working collaboratively with the federal government to find solutions that protect both the industry and the traveling public," the organization said in a statement.
Average U.S. jet fuel prices were $4.19 per gallon on April 24, according to Argus, up from $2.50 when the Iran war began.
AVA airlines met with Transportation Department secretary Sean Duffy on April 21 to discuss the impact of ballooning fuel costs to their operations. Spirit, Frontier and Avelo were already enduring operating losses before energy prices spiked. Spirit, wading through a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization since late 2024, has been especially battered.
Allegiant and Sun Country, which are in the process of merging, have been consistently profitable since the pandemic ended.
The White House downplayed the communications between the administration and the AVA.
"The White House is aware of outreach that was made by a group of budget airlines to the Department of Transportation, and the administration continues to monitor the health of the U.S. aviation industry for passengers and airline employees," said the White House press office on Monday.
"Unless an announcement is officially made by the administration, however, any discussion about federal policymaking should be regarded as baseless speculation."
The AVA said it has requested that the administration create a $2.5 billion liquidity pool to be used exclusively to offset incremental fuel costs. Under the proposal, airlines participating in the program would be required to provide warrants, which the government could convert into ownership stakes.
The $2.5 billion figure has been selected because that is how much extra AVA members expect to pay in fuel this year compared to pre-war forecasts, the WSJ reported.
The AVA noted that the federal government has rescued the airline industry before during challenging periods, including $58 billion provided to U.S. commercial and cargo carriers during the pandemic.
Avelo in a statement alluded to an April 23 Oval Office remark in which President Trump noted that he likes having a lot of airlines so that the industry is competitive.
"We emphatically agree that a healthy airline industry with strong competition is important to the U.S. economy, especially during this period of high fuel prices," Avelo said.
The discussions between the AVA and the administration are separate from the White House's consideration of a $500 million Spirit Airlines rescue, the WSJ said.
During his April 23 remarks, Trump said that in addition to considering a bailout of Spirit, the White House is considering purchasing Spirit outright.
"We'd be getting it virtually debt free. They have some good aircraft assets, and when the price of oil goes down, we'll sell it for a profit," he said.