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Spirit Airlines is gone, and even travelers who avoided Spirit may feel it in their wallets. Shawn and Mark talk through the fallout for cheap flights, the JetBlue and Frontier merger mess, and why low-cost carriers have such a hard time making the model work in the U.S.

They also get into JetBlue's pricing lawsuit, data tracking worries, a robot that bought its own Southwest seat, and the cheap travel items that actually earn space in the bag. Yes, that includes Benji's forever stamp.

What we cover:

• Spirit Airlines disappearing and what it means for airfare
• Why JetBlue, Frontier and Spirit all ended up tied together in this story
• The difference between Ryanair, Allegiant and the U.S. low-cost model
• JetBlue's lawsuit over pricing, cookies and tracking claims
• Whether airline pricing algorithms and shared pricing data hurt consumers
• A robot flying Southwest with its own seat
• Cheap and free travel items worth packing, from plastic bags to backup headphones

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 - Welcome to MTM Travel
• 0:20 - Spirit Airlines disappears
• 3:06 - The JetBlue and Frontier merger fallout
• 5:02 - Why U.S. low-cost carriers struggle
• 7:45 - What losing Spirit means for fares
• 10:38 - Low-cost carriers need a new plan
• 12:30 - JetBlue lawsuit and pricing tracking claims
• 15:47 - A robot gets its own Southwest seat
• 17:06 - Cheap and free travel items worth packing
• 21:00 - The travel gear we actually keep packed
• 24:10 - Freebies, bottle openers and fancy hotel pens

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