Pioneering ultralow-cost carrier Spirit Airlines has halted operations.
"In March 2026, we reached an agreement with our bondholders on a restructuring plan that would have allowed us to emerge as a go-forward business," CEO Dave Davis said in a statement Saturday.
"However, the sudden and sustained rise in fuel prices in recent weeks ultimately has left us with no alternative but to pursue an orderly wind-down of the company. Sustaining the business required hundreds of millions of additional dollars of liquidity that Spirit simply does not have and could not procure. This is tremendously disappointing and not the outcome any of us wanted."
The closure came after the airline's negotiations for a $500 million federal bailout, which President Donald Trump had supported, fell through.
Spirit first entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring in November 2024. It emerged in March 2025, only to re-enter bankruptcy last August.
Since then, the company had downsized substantially, having reduced its fleet from 214 planes last August to 125 in March. Its closure will result in a loss of 1.8% of U.S. airline capacity, according to investment analyst Tom Fitzgerald of TD Cowen.
The company said Saturday that it will automatically process refunds for any flights purchased in Spirit direct channels with a credit or debit card. Customers who booked via a travel advisor or OTA will need to contact the advisor or online travel agency to request a refund. Compensation for flyers who purchased flights with cash, flight credits, vouchers or Free Spirit points will be determined through the bankruptcy process.
Airlines offer capped fares
U.S. airlines are offering capped and reduced fares to Spirit flyers in need of alternative flights. JetBlue, the largest airline at what was Spirit's home base of Fort Lauderdale, will cap fares for three days to flyers who provide proof of a Spirit flight confirmation. Delta will cap fares for five days.
Untied will make capped fares available online for two weeks. And Southwest will sell capped fares for three days, but only at airport ticket counters.
In addition, American and Delta are offering reduced fares on routes that overlapped with Spirit, and Allegiant has frozen fares on its overlap routes.
Frontier Airlines launched a sale Saturday for 50% off base fares across its entire network for travel through Nov. 19. Spirit customers also have access to Frontier's all-you-can-fly summer GoWild pass for $199.
Flyers should check individual airline websites for specifics of each airline's offer.
In a statement, the U.S. Transportation Department said it had coordinated with airlines to offer relief to Spirit customers.
New routes from JetBlue and Frontier
Meanwhile, JetBlue and Frontier wasted no time promoting plans to fill the flying void to be left by Spirit.
JetBlue detailed 11 new routes that it will launch from Fort Lauderdale by Nov. 2 to backfill Spirit flying. Frontier said it will add nine routes on former Spirit city pairs and add flights on nine others.
The Spirit Airlines brand debuted in 1992. Spirit became the first U.S. ultralow-cost carrier in 2006, pioneering a no-frills business model in which advance seat assignments, checked bags, carry-ons and other add-ons all came with an additional fee.
The model spawned imitators like Frontier and Allegiant, and led larger airlines to also offer unbundled fares that they could merchandise at lower prices.
Spirit was successful until the pandemic, but the carrier was never able to regain its balance in the post-pandemic period, as customer preferences shifted to more premium airline services.