Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale International) has secured an agreement from certain prepetition debtholders to provide up to USD300 million in financing once it emerges from Chapter 11 and fulfils certain criteria. CEO Ted Christie also told Spirit's employees in an internal memo this week that 200 of them will lose their jobs.
According to a January 16, 2025, Securities Exchange Commission filing, certain prepetition debtholders agreed to provide the funds via a senior secured revolving credit facility once Spirit exits Chapter 11 proceedings but is contingent on meeting certain undisclosed conditions. The credit facility includes revolving credit loans and letters of credit totalling USD275 million and an uncommitted incremental revolving credit facility up to USD25 million.
Meanwhile, as part of the restructuring process, 200 non-unionised workers, mostly in management and administration, will lose their jobs.
"We are executing on plans to rightsize our organization to align with our current fleet size and level of flying and ultimately optimize our airline," Spirit's statement on the matter reads. "After reviewing our organizational structure, we have made the difficult decision to eliminate approximately 200 positions."
US government data indicates Spirit employed over 11,650 people in November 2024.
“The bottom line is, we need to run a smaller airline and get back on better financial footing,” Christie's memo to employees this week said. The job cuts are part of larger staff reductions that started last year. The airline is also closing many maintenance centres and is reducing the fleet size. Among other things, Spirit has retired its last A319-100 in recent days. It has also recently secured court approval to sell twenty-three aircraft, a mix of A320-200s and A321-200s. The asset sale will generate around USD520 million for the airline.
Spirit Airlines filed for Chapter 11 in November ending months of speculation about its future and following a thwarted bid to merge with JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK). The carrier hopes to emerge from the process later this quarter.
