Spirit Airlines files again for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Spirit Airlines announced on August 29, 2025, that it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. 

This development was not totally unexpected in the industry, since the ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) has been struggling financially for a prolonged period of time.  

This is actually the second time in less than a year that Spirit Airlines has sought to restructure its debts through this measure. In November 2024, the carrier already filed for Chapter 11, becoming the first major US airline to do so in more than a decade.  

Spirit Airlines subsequently exited Chapter 11 on March 2025 after restructuring parts of its debts, securing a $350 equity investment from one of its existing shareholders and appointing a new CEO. These measures, however, appear to have been insufficient to secure some degree of financial respite for the airline. 

In Q2 2025, Spirit Airlines posted an operational loss of $184 million and a net loss of $245 million, a deterioration over the figures corresponding same period the preceding year, $152 million and $192 million, respectively. 

The airline’s new management team is looking for ways to cut costs, such as the furlough or demotion to first officer of some 400 of its pilots, all while competitors are closing in, threatening a further erosion of its revenue.  

In July 2025, for example, Frontier Airlines, another low-cost airline which had tried unsuccessfully to acquire Spirit Airlines just a few months earlier, announced the launch of 20 new routes targeting key Spirit Airlines’ markets.  

On August 11, 2025, the airline raised the alarm about its dwindling cash reserves and said, in a Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) filing, that its continuity as a going concern was in question unless its cash position could be redressed. 

In the meantime, Spirit Airlines has set up a dedicated website to share information about the restructuring process in a bid to reassure its customers and investors. In a public statement it has posted online, the carrier has stated that it will continue to operate with normality while it works with its lessors, bondholders and other stakeholders to address the underlying cost structure issues, redesign its network and resize its fleet.  The post Spirit Airlines files again for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection appeared first on AeroTime.

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