Spirit Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, citing ongoing financial struggles due to mounting losses and debt maturities. This decision follows two failed merger attempts with Frontier and JetBlue, which left the airline financially unstable after repeated quarterly losses.
Spirit Airlines also announced the cancellation of 32 routes, with major hubs like Charlotte Douglas International, Dallas-Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, and Los Angeles’ LAX seeing significant cuts.
Specifically, Charlotte’s direct connections to Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Los Angeles will be discontinued, leaving American Airlines as the only carrier offering direct service between Charlotte and Los Angeles. They also ended its Boston-Newark route just months after restarting it in May, facing competition from Delta, United, and Amtrak.
Despite the bankruptcy filing, Spirit’s President and CEO Ted Christie stated that an agreement with bondholders would reduce the company’s total debt and provide increased financial flexibility. Flights, bookings, credits, and loyalty points will remain unaffected during this period.
“I am pleased we have reached an agreement with a supermajority of both our loyalty and convertible bondholders on a comprehensive recapitalization of the Company, which is a strong vote of confidence in Spirit and our long-term plan,” said Spirit CEO Ted Christie in a press release. “This set of transactions will materially strengthen our balance sheet and position Spirit for the future while we continue executing on our strategic initiatives to transform our Guest experience, providing new enhanced travel options, greater value and increased flexibility. I’m extremely proud of the Spirit team’s hard work and dedication, which is key to our sustained progress in advancing our business and delivering for our Guests.”
