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Spirit Airlines' $10 Million Data Sale to Google Draws Growing Legal Pushback
Spirit Airlines' proposed $10 million sale of customer and employee data to Google has stalled for months amid opposition from unions and lawmakers, raising legal questions about bankruptcy and data privacy protections.
The package under the proposed deal would give Google millions of payroll records, email accounts and employee data reaching back to 1986, according to court filings. It also covers Spirit's pricing model and booking curves, flight behavior data, in-flight purchases and Wi-Fi records, refund histories and travel package information.
Google plans to use the material to enhance its AI models, a purpose that has helped turn a routine liquidation item into a contested legal question.
Spirit shut down in May and moved to wind down its assets. It sold its sought-after slots at LaGuardia to JetBlue, and its headquarters in Dania Beach, Florida, went to a hedge fund. The carrier has also been selling off engines and returning aircraft to lessors.
The data transaction has drawn opposition from multiple unions and lawmakers and has faced months of delays. At issue is how far bankruptcy code should extend to shield employee privacy as AI development advances rapidly.
The dispute has opened broader questions about who is protected under bankruptcy and data privacy laws, leaving the Google sale unresolved.