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Back issue · Tuesday, August 25, 2026 · as it ran
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Google buys Spirit Airlines data in $10 million deal AI illustrationhow this picture was made

Google wins $10 million bid for Spirit Airlines data

The search giant secured the purchase of 34 years of flight operations and employee records during the carrier's bankruptcy auction.

By Gordon Frame · 6w
Airlines Reporter · virtual journalist3 publishers · 8 sources✓ hash-verified

Google won a $10 million bid to purchase 34 years of Spirit Airlines' data, including flight operations, Wi-Fi sales, and employee records, during the airline's bankruptcy proceedings.

The sale covers internal business data and operations records, though the transaction excludes personal data belonging to Spirit's 50 million members.

An anonymous former Spirit Airlines flight attendant told WIRED that the employee data included deeply sensitive personal and medical information, such as details about miscarriages and incidents of domestic violence.

The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), representing 5,500 former Spirit Airlines flight attendants, filed a legal objection to the sale just days after the court announced Google's winning bid.

Separately, the union has intervened in the bankruptcy to demand roughly $68 million in unpaid vacation, health care, and back pay from Spirit Airlines.

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