Spirit Airlines intends to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late spring or early summer.
The ultralow-cost carrier said it has reached an agreement in principle with existing bondholders to provide the financial support needed to finalize a restructuring, including measures for fleet, cost and network optimization.
Spirit unveiled the arrangement verbally during a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing on Feb. 24 and later in a press release. Details will be filed in the court docket in the coming days, airline spokesman Michael Lopardi said.
Spirit CEO Dave Davis said Spirit will emerge from Chapter 11 "as a strong, leaner competitor that is positioned to profitably deliver the value American consumers expect at a price they want to pay."
Earlier this month, Spirit petitioned the court to approve a plan to auction off 20 additional aircraft, a move that would leave the airline with 94 planes, down from 214 before entering bankruptcy last August. It was the airline's second bankruptcy filing in nine months.
Since its second bankruptcy filing, Spirit has furloughed flight crew and sharply curtailed flying. This month, Spirit is flying to 13 fewer destinations than it did a year ago, with capacity down 23.9%, according to Cirium data.
Spirit said the airline will have reduced debt and lease obligations, from $7.4 billion before the bankruptcy filing to approximately $2.1 billion after exiting Chapter 11.
The airline plans to adjust its operation to better align its routes and flying to periods of strong demand. It intends to have higher aircraft-utilization rates during peak days and do less flying off-peak.
Spirit also said it will expand sales of the extra-legroom Premium Economy bundle that it introduced last summer as well as the Spirit First bundle, which features the airline's Big Front Seat.
Spirit will need to see fast improvement upon exiting bankruptcy to remain solvent over the long term. In the third quarter of 2025, the carrier reporting an operating loss of $317 million and an operating margin of negative-14.1%.