Spirit Airlines CEO and president Ted Christie has resigned, effective immediately.
Chief commercial officer Matt Klein has also stepped down.
While the Spirit board searches for a new CEO, the company will be run jointly by chief financial officer Fred Cromer, chief operating officer John Bendoraitis and general counsel Thomas Canfield. Klein has been replaced by Rana Ghosh, who had been serving as the carrier's chief transformation officer.
Spirit exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, having bolstered its balance sheet with bondholders converting $795 million in debt to equity. But the airline still has a challenging road ahead. It suffered a net loss of $1.23 billion last year and ended 2024 with $902.1 million in cash equivalents.
Since the middle of last year, the ultralow-cost carrier has been taking steps to appeal to a broader range of travelers, including introducing a slate of new bundled fare products.
However, the downturn in the airline industry that began this winter as Trump administration policies hurt consumer confidence, figures to add to Spirit's difficulties. Southwest's decision to offer a basic economy fare for the first time also presents a fresh challenge for Spirit.
The union that represents Spirit pilots issued a warning to the airline after Christie and Klein stepped down.
"We expect -- and will demand from day one -- decisive leadership that is willing to listen, willing to act and ready to lead with integrity," Ryan Miller, president of the Spirit unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, said in a statement.
"Spirit pilots are not interested in more lip service. We're looking for a CEO who values long-term stability, builds trust through transparency and understands that our careers and livelihoods are not negotiable."
The pilots union has been in negotiations for a new contract at Spirit since JetBlue's bid to purchase the discount carrier was successfully blocked by the Justice Department early last year.