Spirit Airlines Emerges From Chapter 11 Bankruptcy ‘More Focused’

Spirit Airlines has emerged from its Chapter 11 restructuring, having reduced its debt by approximately $795 million.

Achieving its reduction through a debt-to-equity swap, the ULCC also received a $350 million equity investment from existing investors to support future initiatives. Spirit emerges with a reconstituted Board of Directors, while CEO Ted Christie and its existing executive team remain in place.

“We’re pleased to complete our streamlined restructuring and emerge in a stronger financial position to continue our transformation and investments in the guest experience,” said Christie. “Throughout this process, we’ve continued to make meaningful progress enhancing our product offerings while also focusing on returning to profitability and positioning our airline for long-term success.”

In addition to Christie, Spirit’s Board now has six directors including several longtime airline executives. The new directors are Robert Milton, lead director of Air Lease Corporation and former Chairman and CEO of Air Canada; David Siegel, Senior Aviation Advisor at Apollo Global Management, chairman of Atlas Air and former CEO of several airlines including Frontier Airlines and US Airways Group; Timothy Bernlohr, founder of TJB Management Consulting, LLC; Eugene Davis, chairman and CEO of PIRINATE Consulting Group, LLC; Andrea Fischer Newman, a Director for StandardAero and former SVP-Government Affairs for Delta Air Lines; and Radha Tilton, VP and Treasurer of General Motors Company.

Christie thanked the outgoing board members “for their contributions and invaluable service to our airline.”

Spirit completed its financial restructuring on March 12. Its Plan of Reorganization was confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, and it received bankruptcy court approval on Feb. 21 to exit the creditor protection. The carrier has continued to operate throughout the process. As it prepared to emerge, the ULCC reported financial results for 2024 that revealed its full-year losses had more than doubled year-over-year as it battled rising unit costs.

Nearly a dozen loss-making quarters had preceded its move to file for bankruptcy, as Spirit struggled to turn a profit post-pandemic. In court filings, it detailed “significant macroeconomic and industry-specific headwinds” as pressuring its business and leading to strategic initiatives including attempted mergers with Frontier Airlines and JetBlue Airways. It has also contended with aircraft groundings stemming from Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engine issues.

Facing a solo future amid significant constraints and following two failed mergers, Spirit pivoted to new premium offerings as part of a plan to return to profitability, while also deferring aircraft deliveries, selling roughly 10% of its fleet, and reducing its workforce. In early 2025, the ULCC rebuffed renewed acquisition attempts from rival budget carrier Frontier, unimpressed with the proffered terms, and voicing confidence in its standalone plan.

“Despite the challenges we’ve faced as an organization, we’re emerging as a stronger and more focused airline,” Christie said upon completion of Spirit’s financial restructuring.

The ULCC anticipates reporting first quarter results in early May.

Disclosing monthly operating results for January 2025 and December 2024 in a court filing, Spirit has reported total operating revenues of $460.9 million for the first month of the year, flat versus the prior month. Its operating expenses rose 5% month-over-month to $454.5 million in January, and net losses widened to $138.4 million in January versus its net loss of $93.5 million the prior month.

Spirit currently has an in-service fleet of 158 Airbus A320ceo family and A320neo family aircraft, according to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database. It has 49 aircraft stored, Fleet Discovery shows.