Spirit Airlines file again for bankruptcy: NPR

Budget Carrier Spirit Airlines said on Friday that he had filed a new protection against bankruptcy of months after emerging from a reorganization of Chapter 11.

The ultra low -cost airline said it planned to continue flying as usual during the restructuring process, which means that passengers can always reserve trips and use their tickets, credits and loyalty points. Employees and entrepreneurs will also continue to be paid, said the company.

The CEO, Dave Davis, said that the previous petition in chapter 11 of the airline has focused on reducing debt and capital lifting, and since its release from this process in March, “it has become clear that there is much more work to do and many other tools are available to the best spirits for the future.”

The on -board agents, on the other hand, were warned by the union leaders of “preparing for all possible scenarios”.

“We are direct because even if we have many ways to fight because of our union, we also want to give you the truth about the situation in our airline and how each of us can take measures to protect ourselves and prepare for any challenge,” the association of agents in a letter to its members.

Spirit, known for its bright yellow aircraft and its unprofessional services, has experienced a difficult race from the Pandemic of Covid-19, which has trouble bouncing in the middle of the increase in operating costs and its assembly debt. At the time of its first chapter deposit 11 in November, Spirit had lost more than $ 2.5 billion since the beginning of 2020.

The airline is now 2.4 billion dollars in long -term debt, most of them due in 2030, and declared a negative treasury flow of $ 1 billion at the end of the second quarter.

Friday news comes as budgetary carriers like Spirit are under pressure by larger airlines, who have deployed their own low -cost offers. Spirit, meanwhile, is trying to draw on a growing market for more high -end trips with its new prices on several levels which include more advantages at the upper end.

But in a quarterly report published earlier this month, Spirit Aviation Holdings, the mother company of the carrier, revealed that it had “substantial doubt” on its ability to stay in business during the next year. The company cited the “unfavorable market conditions” that the company was faced after its last restructuring.

This included a poor request for interior leisure trips and “uncertainties in its commercial operations” that the Florida company expected to continue at least at the end of 2025.

Spirit cost reduction efforts continued after emerging from bankruptcy protection in March, in particular leave plans of around 270 drivers and demotion of some 140 captains in the first officers in the coming months.

These changes, which come into force on October 1 and November 1, were linked to the flight volumes expected in 2026, said the company. They also follow preceding vacation and deletions before the company’s bankruptcy deposit last year.

Despite the cuts, Spirit said he needed more money. Consequently, the company said it was planning to sell certain planes and real estate.

Spirit’s fleet is relatively young, which made the airline an attractive target. But attempts to take over budgetary rivals like JetBlue and Frontier failed before and during the first bankruptcy process of Spirt.

Spirit operates 5,013 flights around 88 destinations in the United States, Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, Panama and Colombia, depending on the Skyscanner.net travel search engine.