OAN Staff Abril Elfi
5:55 PM – Friday, August 29, 2025
Spirit Airlines has filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than a year. However, Spirit has assured passengers that flights, ticket sales, reservations, and loyalty points will continue as usual.
The carrier filed again on Friday, marking its second Chapter 11 filing in the past year, with the first one being in December 2024.
In its previous restructuring, Spirit’s creditors agreed to swap $795 million in debt for equity. Nonetheless, the airline avoided deeper cost-cutting measures at the time — such as reducing its fleet size or substantially scaling back its operations.
This time around, Spirit has announced that it will downsize both its flight network and its aircraft count — with the changes expected to save the company “hundreds of millions of dollars” annually.
“After completing our last restructuring, which focused only on lowering our funded debt and raising equity, it’s become clear that more steps are needed to ensure Spirit is positioned for long-term success,” CEO Dave Davis said in a statement Friday.
In its latest court filing, Spirit reported assets and liabilities each falling in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion.
“Nearly every major U.S. airline has used Chapter 11 to strengthen operations and secure their future,” Spirit said in a post on Instagram Friday.
Back in December, Spirit had projected a $252 million profit for 2025. But earlier this month, the airline disclosed that it had instead lost close to $257 million between March 13 — when it exited Chapter 11 — and the end of June.
Spirit later cautioned that its survival was uncertain without a significant boost in liquidity, and the company revealed that its credit card processor demanded more collateral. Spirit then borrowed the full $275 million available from its revolving credit line and warned that the processor could withhold as much as $3 million in ticket sales daily.
Meanwhile, the financial strain has taken a toll on Spirit’s stock, which has plunged 72% over the last month and dropped another 45% in after-hours trading on Friday.
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