Spirit Airlines, the no-frills US travel pioneer, has filed for bankruptcy protection after struggling with years of losses, failed merger attempts and heavy debt levels, the company said.
The Florida-based airline said on Monday that it had pre-arranged a deal with its bondholders to restructure its debts and raise money to help it operate during the bankruptcy process, which it expects to exit in the first quarter of 2025.
It is the first major United States-based airline to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in more than a decade, after a proposed $3.8bn merger with JetBlue Airways collapsed in January.
Intense competition among US carriers for price-sensitive leisure travellers as well as an oversupply of airline seats in the domestic market hit Spirit’s pricing power. Its average fare per passenger was down 19 percent on a year-on-year basis in the first half of this year from a year earlier.
The carrier said it expected to continue operating its business as normal through the proceedings, and customers could book and fly without interruption.
The Chapter 11 process will not impact wages or benefits of its employees, it said. Its vendors and aircraft lessors will also continue to be paid and will not be impaired, it added.
The company said it expected to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in the near term, and that its shares would be cancelled and have no value as part of the restructuring.
Spirit’s shares, which have plunged more than 90…
