Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy protection again

Budget carrier Spirit Airlines mentioned Friday that it has filed for fresh bankruptcy protection months after emerging from a Chapter reorganization The no-frills airline mentioned it intends to conduct business as normal during the restructuring process meaning passengers can continue to book trips and use their tickets credits and loyalty points The company reported its employees and contractors would still be paid Spirit President and CEO Dave Davis announced the airline s previous Chapter petition focused on reducing debt and raising capital and since exiting that process in March it has become clear that there is much more work to be done and multiple more tools are available to best position Spirit for the future In a quarterly overview issued earlier this month Spirit Aviation Holdings the carrier s parent company commented it had substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern over the next year which is accounting-speak for running out of money Spirit cited adverse region conditions the company faced after its largest part contemporary restructuring and other efforts to revive its business That included weak demand for domestic leisure excursion which Spirit declared persisted in the second quarter of its fiscal year and uncertainties in its business operations that the Florida company expects to continue for at least the remainder of Known for its no-frills low-cost flights on a fleet of bright yellow planes Spirit has struggled to recover and compete since the COVID- pandemic Rising operation costs and mounting debt eventually led the company to seek bankruptcy protection in November By the time of that Chapter filing the airline had lost more than billion since the start of When Spirit emerged from bankruptcy protection in March the company successfully restructured particular of its debt obligations and secured new financing for future operations Spirit has continued to make other cost-cutting efforts since including plans to furlough about pilots and downgrade particular captains to first officers in the coming months The furloughs and downgrades publicized last month go into effect Oct and Nov to align with Spirit s projected flight volume for the company noted in its quarterly record They also follow previous furloughs and job cuts before the company s bankruptcy filing last year Despite these and other cost-cutting efforts Spirit has announced it necessities more cash As a end the company noted it may also sell certain aircraft and real estate And as discount carriers struggle to compete with bigger airlines multiple of which have snagged budget-conscious customers through their own tiered offerings Spirit is attempting to tap into the growing field for more upscale passage It is now offering flight options with tiered prices the higher-priced tickets coming with more amenities The company pointed to the new strategy again on Monday Spirit s aircraft fleet is relatively young which has also made the airline an attractive takeover target But such buyout attempts from budget rivals like JetBlue and Frontier were unsuccessful both before and during the bankruptcy process Spirit operates flights to destinations in the U S the Caribbean Mexico Central America Panama and Colombia according to movement search engine Skyscanner net Source