Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy. Will it impact flights at Charlotte Douglas?
Spirit Airlines, a low-fare option for passengers at Charlotte’s airport, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday because of financial problems.
The Florida-based company will continue to operate as normal while officials work on restructuring its debt, Spirit said in a news release. Local customers trying to catch flights at Charlotte Douglas International Airport can continue to book and fly without interruption. All tickets, credits and loyalty points are still valid too.
Employees’ wages and benefits will not be impacted by the bankruptcy, according to Spirit.
Spirit entered into an agreement with support from most of its bondholders to restructure the company’s balance sheet, Spirit said. This is expected to reduce debt, increase financial flexibility and put Spirit in a position for long-term success, the airline said.
Bondholders committed $350 million in equity investment, which equates to $795 million of Spirit’s debt. They are also giving an additional $300 million to help the airline through the bankruptcy process.
Spirit CEO Ted Christie said he was pleased to reach an agreement with bondholders on the plan to continue operations. The process is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025, according to Spirit.
Along with debt, some of the challenges include competition from other airlines, losses, and a failed merger with JetBlue, according to bankruptcy documents. In March 2023, the deal was blocked by a federal judge who said it would reduce competition and give airlines more leeway to raise ticket prices. The combined company was projected to have annual revenues of approximately $11.9 billion based on 2019 revenues.
Spirit was founded in 1964 as Clippert Trucking Company, a Michigan corporation. It began chartering air operations in 1990 and adopted the name Spirit Airlines, Inc. in 1992.
Spirit has a small footprint at Charlotte Douglas along with other airlines such as Delta, Frontier, JetBlue and Southwest. The Florida-based company makes up about 2% of flights at the airport. American Airlines accounts for about 87% of services at CLT. The airport is the second-largest hub for the Fort Worth, Texas-based company.
Service from Spirit came to the Charlotte airport in 2019, with routes to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida, Newark, N.J., and Baltimore/Washington.
At the time, the airline’s vice president of network planning indicated Spirit would continue to expand in the state: “We’re very bullish on North Carolina,” The Charlotte Observer reported.
In October, nonstop service between Charlotte to New Orleans was the latest new route. It operates five times a week on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Spirit announced that service to Fort Myers, Florida, will start March 5 from Charlotte Douglas. Flights will operate daily.
