Spirit bows to pressure: Airline CEO to refund dying veteran's fare

Dying Vietnam veteran Jerry Meekins is getting his money back from Spirit Airlines' tightfisted boss after all.

After a week of criticism from veterans around the nation, Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza issued a statement Friday afternoon saying he would personally refund Meekins' $197 airfare, and that the discount carrier would make a $5,000 donation to the Wounded Warrior Project.

"He called me personally, and I'm going to take him at his word," Meekins told FoxNews.com. "He was apologetic and said he'd made a mistake."
The move was a sharp reversal for Baldanza, who as recently as Thursday had stubbornly refused to refund the cancer-stricken Marine's money, even though Meekins' doctor told him he could not fly.

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Spirit Airlines refunds dying veteran
By Rebecca Ruiz

Spirit Airlines has decided today to reverse a controversial decision it made in April and is refunding the airfare purchased by Jerry Meekins, a dying veteran who could not use his ticket.

Meekins recently purchased a ticket from the airline to visit his daughter in New Jersey. "Two weeks after I bought the ticket, I found out I was terminal," Meekins, a Vietnam veteran, told NBC affiliate WFLA-TV in Tampa, Fla.

Meekins says his doctors advised him not to fly. But when he asked Spirit Airlines for a refund, they refused.

When contacted by WFLA-TV at the time, Spirit Airlines issued this statement: "Our reservations are non-refundable, which means we don't do refunds and we are not going to issue Mr. Meekins a refund."

The airline also said that it offers low-cost travel insurance that covers a variety of unexpected circumstances and added, "It wouldn't be fair to bend the policy for one and not for all."

Ben Baldanza, the airline's CEO, said in a statement released today, "In my statements regarding Mr. Meekins' request for a refund, I failed to explain why our policy on refunds makes Spirit Airlines the only affordable choice for so many travelers, and I did not demonstrate the respect or the compassion that I should have, given his medical condition and his service to our country."

In addition to refunding Meekins, the airline is donating $5,000 to the Wounded Warriors, a charity designated by the veteran.

Another rightie gets special privileges because they can't read.

Non-refundable is non-refundable.