Posted on 08/12/2025 6:09:55 AM PDT by Red Badger
Key Points
The airline issued a going-concern warning in its quarterly filing, months after emerging from bankruptcy,
The budget airline icon has tried to attract bookings by marketing more upscale products like premium economy.
The carrier has been challenged by an oversupply of domestic flights, changing consumer tastes and an engine grounding.
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Spirit Airlines has warned it might not be able to survive as a going concern if it doesn’t raise more cash, five months after the budget-travel icon emerged from bankruptcy.
After cutting its debt during restructuring, Spirit has tried to attract bookings by marketing more upscale products and looking for new ways to cut costs. Late last month, the airline announced plans to furlough 270 more pilots this fall.
“However, the Company has continued to be affected by adverse market conditions, including elevated domestic capacity and continued weak demand for domestic leisure travel in the second quarter of 2025, resulting in a challenging pricing environment,” the company said in its quarterly report late Monday.
As its financial results aren’t improving at the same pace creditors agreements require, Spirit will need additional cash. Failing to do so could result in defaults. The carrier is looking at selling some aircraft, real estate or airport gates, it said.
“Because of the uncertainty of successfully completing the initiatives to comply with the minimum liquidity covenants and of the outcome of discussions with Company stakeholders, management has concluded there is substantial doubt as to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within 12 months from the date these financial statements are issued,” it said in the filing.
Why Spirit Airlines is struggling
Spirit’s bankruptcy last year marked the first of a major U.S. airline since 2011.
Known for its bright-yellow planes, Spirit was a budget airline pioneer in the U.S., but struggled in the wake of a failed acquisition by JetBlue Airways last year, shifting consumer tastes to more upmarket products and an engine recall that grounded many of its airplanes.
Have that on 45!........................
The Spirit approach means you are incrementally charged for everything. I think our expectations of free peanuts or a soda from other airlines taints that.
In theory, since I have a libertarian streak, I like this, but the hassle of each tiny incremental item being another charge occasion reminds me of the logical extension of roads for tolls. In other words, yes, government can make no roads and allow private land owners to charge a toll for every new property you now have to pass through, but manning those toll places and not knowing what was fully included or allowed for each land owners’ land makes things incredibly inefficient and not practical. This is how Spirit works, though. There's no “complete” package to buy to lose all the one-off hassles, mimicking a normal airline ticket.
I personally know a Spirit pilot, so I hope he comes out of this, well. He's a truly nice guy.
Maybe they could charge for oxygen on the flights. I think that’s the only thing they DON’T already charge for.
Pilots always do well..................
But think of all the publicity Spirit Airlines gets on Youtube!
Maybe they should pay per view flights.
How can we exist without the 3am Waffle House of air travel?
Spirit needs to do three things:
1. Replace seats with seats that recline at least a bit, like Southwest.
2. Adopt Southwest’s model for open seating, single class, and free luggage...now that Southwest has abandoned all of that.
3. Run credit checks on every customer so they’re no longer the “Carnival of the Airways”.
Other airlines would likely throw a bunch of cash Spirit’s way just to keep Spirit’s customers from using other airlines.
>Terrible airline. Have never not had a problem flying them.
Absolutely. Survival of the fittest, I don’t think anybody will miss their crappy service if they were to just go away
Spirit Airlines won’t survive b/c of its reputation of hauling around the most depraved segment of society.
Fights at the Spirit Airlines terminal - and on their planes - are all over the news.
Ditto for the Princess Cruise line.
Actually, Greyhound isn’t so bad these days. My daughter took Greyhous a couple of years ago to go back to college - the buses had just been revamped - she said the bus was clean, well maintained, seats were in good shape and there was free WiFi.
Spirit Airlines is the Princess Cruises of the sky...
GOOD IDEA!........................
Not so sure about #1, especially for flights less than 3 hours. I actually like their rocker back seats so no jag-off can trap you for the duration of the flight.
It has happened to me on MORNING flights and isn't fun.
Nooooo! and have their clientele flock to other airlines?
I have never heard anything good said about them from anyone ever.
Here’s one:
It’s a good thing they exist so we can fly on other airlines.................. 😏
Here’s one:
It’s a good thing they exist so we can fly on other airlines.................. 😏
Spirit has a very useful role in containing the many of the most disruptive people who fly. If Spirit goes away, those people end up on better airlines and causing trouble for the rest of us.
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