Arriving from Boston on September 1, 2024 at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, Spirit Airlines Airbus A320 taxi at Los Angeles International Airport.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, and just a few months later, budget carriers were unable to obtain a better financial foundation in Chapter 11 protection in March.
Spirit Debtholders agreed to exchange debts in a previous bankruptcy that began in November, but the carrier avoided greater changes to cut costs, such as getting rid of the aircraft or narrowing the carrier's footprint to a greater extent.
In December court filings, the spirit predicts net profit this year to be $252 million. But earlier this month, it said it had withdrawn from Chapter 11 since March 13, until the end of June, and it lost nearly $257 million.
Dania Beach, Florida-based airline said it will reduce its network and shrink its fleet under this bankruptcy, and cut costs for a year, which will reduce costs “hundreds of millions of dollars” each year.
“Since our previous restructuring stems from targeted restructuring that only targets reducing mentally funded debt and increasing equity capital, it's clear that there is more work to be done and more tools to provide the best placement spirit in the future,” said Dave Davis, CEO of Spiritual CEO, in a press release on Friday.
Four months later, the spirit of March had just gone bankrupt and was delayed until the continued high costs and weak domestic demand in the United States. The airline has struggled for years while handling top-notch flights in the U.S., Pratt and Whitney engine recalls and failed takeovers JetBlue Airlinesa transaction that was blocked in court.
According to people familiar with the matter, Spirit’s aircraft lessors have been exposed to rival airlines in recent weeks to measure executive interest in certain airlines.
Spirit is the largest budget airline in the United States, followed by competitors Border Airlines It has been trying to merge with Spirit since 2022. Frontier announced 20 new routes on Tuesday to compete with Spirit to win customers from struggling competitors.