A Spirit business airliner prepares to land at San Diego International Airport in San Diego, California, U.S., January 18, 2024.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Spirit Airlines shares tumbled to a record low on Friday after a report that it’s exploring Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The carrier faces a deadline this month to renegotiate greater than $1 billion in debt.
A bankruptcy filing would mark a dramatic turn for the carrier with its iconic yellow planes that caters to budget-conscious travelers.
Profitable and punctual before the pandemic, Spirit’s no-frills service became a punchline for late-night comedians and a thorn within the side of huge network carriers, enticing customers with double-digit fares and charges for the whole lot else from seat assignments to carry-on luggage.
But big airlines soon successfully copied much of that business model with their lowest bare-bones fares. And a federal judge at first of the 12 months blocked Spirit’s planned acquisition by JetBlue Airways on antitrust grounds, halting what each carriers argued was a key avenue to compete with larger rivals. The scuttled deal left Spirit by itself to struggle with a Pratt & Whitney engine recall, shifting consumer travel patterns and better costs.
After the JetBlue deal fell apart, Spirit said in January that it was taking a look at options to refinance its debt.
Spirit has $1.1 billion in loyalty-program backed debt that’s due next September. It has until Oct. 21 to refinance or extend those secured notes.
The carrier has been losing money since 2020 and has reported disappointing results this 12 months, including a virtually $193 million loss within the second quarter. The corporate has spent much of this 12 months scrambling to chop costs, including furloughing pilots, slashing flights and deferring Airbus jetliner orders.
Spirit reduced its November and December capability growth plans by about 17%, Barclays airline analyst Brandon Oglenski said earlier this week.
“As we have said, Spirit has been implementing a comprehensive plan to assist us higher compete, strengthen our balance sheet, and return to profitability,” CEO Ted Christie said in a note to staff on Friday. “We remain engaged in productive conversations with our bondholders, and we’re focused on securing one of the best final result for the business as quickly as possible.”
A Spirit spokesman declined to comment on a the Wall Street Journal report that the carrier is considering a bankruptcy filing. Spirit adviser Perella Weinberg Partners declined to comment.
Spirit’s stock price dropped greater than 24% Friday to a record low of $1.69. Shares are down nearly 90% thus far this 12 months.
Shares of Frontier Airlines, which originally planned to merge with fellow budget airline Spirit before JetBlue swooped in in 2022, surged 16% on Friday. Shares of other airlines also rallied.
