Spirit Airlines in trouble
The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Bloomberg are reporting that Spirit Airlines is in financial trouble. According to the outlets, the airline is considering filing for either bankruptcy protection (Chapter 11) or a downright bankruptcy. As a result of the news, Spirit shares fell with 30% on 3 October 2024.
Since Spirit Airlines and JetBlue called of their intended merger in March 2024, the low-cost carrier has been struggling to find a way forward to profitability. Over the last few months, it has been reducing capacity, cancelling unprofitable routes, as well as defer orders for new Airbuses.
Spirit is plagued by a large amount of debt, engine issues rendering part of its A320neo-fleet unserviceable at times, and hasn't been making a profit for over more than a year.
The airline has declined to comment on the bankruptcy speculation but did acknowledge it was looking for a way forward to handle debt payments scheduled for 2025 and 2026.
Spirit Airlines was founded in 1983 as Charter One Airlines and commenced operations in 1990. In May 1992, it was rebranded into Spirit Airlines. It has operating bases at Atlanta (GA), Chicago-O'Hare (IL), Dallas-Forth Worth (TX), Detroit (MI), Fort Lauderdale (FL), Houston-International (TX), Las Vegas (NV), Miami (FL), Newark (NJ), and Orlando (FL). It flies to a little over ninety destinations.
The fleet is made-up of 7 A319s, 64 A320s, 91 A320neos (20 parked), 30 A321s, and 25 A321neos.
Photo by Spirit Airlines.