Aug. 30 (UPI) — Spirit Airlines announced it filed for bankruptcy, less than six months after emerging from Chapter 11 reorganization.

The budget carrier said Friday it is “executing a comprehensive restructuring of the airline to position the business for long-term success.” The company filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

After the filing, the South Florida-headquartered airline assured customers the carrier will continue service to most current locations.

“The most important thing to know is that Spirit continues to operate and offer high-value travel options,” Spirit said in a letter to all guests. “This means you can continue to book and travel with Spirit.

“Our flights continue to operate normally. You can use tickets, credits and loyalty points. You can continue to benefit from our Free Spirit loyalty program, Saver$ Club perks and credit card terms.”

Wages and benefits will continue for employees and contractors. Also, Spirit intends to pay vendors and suppliers for goods and services provided on or after the filing date.

“Our Team Members remain focused on offering you a safe journey, with excellent service and an elevated experience,” the airline told guests.

After emerging from bankruptcy the first time, Spirit said it planned to furlough about 270 pilots and downgrade some 140 captains to first officers between Oct. 1 and Nov. 1.

The total number of employees is 11,000.

Reorganization plans are focused on four areas:

• Redesigning its network to “focus its flying on key markets to provide more destinations, frequencies and enhanced connectivity in its focus cities.” That includes ending service in certain markets.
• Rightsizing fleet size “to match capacity with profitable demand in line with the redesigned network. This will significantly lower Spirit’s debt and lease obligations and is projected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual operating savings.”
• Addressing cost structure “to build on its industry-leading cost model by pursuing further efficiencies across the business.”
• Offering three new travel options of Spirit First, Premium Economy and Value. “Spirit will take full advantage of its lower costs to offer consumers more of what they want — value at every price point,” the airline said.

In March, Spirit said it was “emerging as a stronger and more focused airline” after declaring bankruptcy on Nov. 18 after poor quarterly performances. Spirit had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020 with revenue severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the first bankruptcy, the airline received a $350 million equity investment from existing investors to support Spirit’s future initiatives. The airline emerged from its financial restructuring, completing a transaction that equitizes approximately $795 million of funded debt.

Common shares will now be traded on the over-the-counter market and delisted from the NYSE American Stock Exchange.

After emerging from the first bankruptcy, Spirit said Ted Christie would remain as chief executive but two months later, David Davis, 58, was named president and CEO. He most recently worked as the chief financial officer and a board member of Sun Country Airlines.

“Since emerging from our previous restructuring, which was targeted exclusively on reducing Spirit’s funded debt and raising equity capital, it has become clear that there is much more work to be done and many more tools are available to best position Spirit for the future,” Davis said. “After thoroughly evaluating our options and considering recent events and the market pressures facing our industry, our Board of Directors decided that a court-supervised process is the best path forward to make the changes needed to ensure our long-term success.

“We have evaluated every corner of our business and are proceeding with a comprehensive approach in which we will be far more strategic about our fleet, markets and opportunities in order to best serve our Guests, Team Members and other stakeholders.”

After the airline released its quarterly report earlier this month, Spirit revealed that it had “substantial doubt” about its ability to stay in business over the next year, citing “adverse market conditions.” It reported a net loss of $245.8 million for the second quarter of 2025. Revenue was $1.02 billion, down 20% from the previous year.

The carrier rejected repeated acquisition proposals from rival discounter Frontier Airlines and in January 2024, JetBlue’s purchase plans of the rival airline were rejected by antitrust regulators.

Spirit has 550 daily flights to 77 destinations, through the United States, the Caribbean and South America.

In terms of market share, Spirit is 4.4%. Delta Airlines is No. 1 at 17.9%, followed by American Airlines at 17.3%, Southwest Airlines at 16.3% and United Airlines at 16.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation statistics from June 2024 to May.

Spirit’s main hub is Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Its two other major hubs: Orlando International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.