Google has agreed to pay $10 million (€8.6 million) for a vast collection of internal data and software belonging to defunct US low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, with the technology giant planning to use the material for product development and artificial intelligence training.
The deal emerged from an auction held as part of Spirit’s court-supervised liquidation, with Google submitting the highest bid for the digital assets. The transaction remains subject to approval by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, with a hearing scheduled for 19 August.
Google beat a $7.5 million offer from Mercor, a company that connects professionals with artificial intelligence training projects. Google had reportedly initially offered $5 million before increasing its bid during the auction process to secure the assets for $10 million.
The scale of the data involved is substantial. According to court filings, the package contains around 100 million employee emails and 500 million Microsoft Teams messages, as well as spreadsheets, calendars and other internal business information accumulated during Spirit’s operations.
The acquisition also includes information covering areas such as marketing, productivity, finance and accounting, airline operations and website analytics. The material therefore provides Google with a large dataset reflecting the day-to-day activities of a major US airline across several areas of its business.
100 million emails and 500 million Teams messages
Google has said the information could be used to improve its products and AI models. The acquisition comes as technology companies increasingly seek large volumes of real-world data to develop and train artificial intelligence systems, particularly material that reflects how people communicate and work within organisations.
However, Google will not acquire Spirit customer or credit card information. The data must be de-identified by a third party before being transferred to the technology company, removing personally identifiable information. Passenger profiles and loyalty programme information are also excluded from the acquisition.
A Google spokesperson said any data received by the company would be “rigorously scrubbed” of personally identifiable information before being transferred, stressing that the company is not purchasing Spirit customer information or credit card data.
Spirit’s assets sold following airline collapse
The sale is part of the ongoing disposal of Spirit Airlines’ remaining assets following the collapse of the carrier earlier this year. Attorneys overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings have continued selling the former airline’s assets as the liquidation process advances.
As reported by Travel Tomorrow, Spirit ceased operations on 2 May 2026 following years of financial difficulties, repeated bankruptcy proceedings and unsuccessful attempts to secure additional funding. The airline had recently sought $500 million in assistance from the US government in an effort to remain operational, but the request did not prevent its eventual shutdown.
Around 50,000 people were flying with Spirit each day by the time of its demise, making it the seventh-largest US carrier. Approximately 17,000 employees were also affected by the airline going out of business.
Spirit had served US passengers for nearly three and a half decades and became one of the country’s best-known ultra-low-cost carriers. Its business model was built around low base fares, with passengers paying separately for a range of additional services.
Despite criticism of that model, Spirit played a significant role in making air travel more affordable for price-sensitive passengers and contributed to competitive pressure on fares in the US aviation market.
Its collapse has left a range of valuable assets to be sold through the bankruptcy process, extending beyond aircraft and airport infrastructure to the enormous volume of digital information generated during decades of operations.
The $10 million Google transaction demonstrates that such data can itself represent a valuable asset in the age of artificial intelligence. The deal will now depend on approval from the bankruptcy court at the hearing scheduled for 19 August.
