Ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2024, has emerged from its financial restructuring, the carrier announced Wednesday. President and CEO Ted Christie will continue to lead the airline, along with its existing executive team, according to Spirit.
The carrier reduced its debt to $795 million and received a $350 million equity investment from existing investors, according to Spirit. It plans to re-list its shares on a stock exchange "as soon as reasonably practicable."
"We're pleased to complete our streamlined restructuring and emerge in a stronger financial position to continue our transformation and investments in the Guest experience," Christie said in a statement. "Today, we're moving forward with our strategy to redefine low-fare travel with our new, high-value travel options."
That strategy, announced last summer, is part of a plan to become a more premium carrier.
The famously no-frills carrier, which charged extra for most ancillaries, in August 2024 began offering four new fare options. The "Go Big" fare includes a larger front seat with more legroom, snacks and drinks, including alcoholic beverages, one carry-on bag, one checked bag, priority check-in and boarding, streaming access through Wi-Fi and no middle seats.
"Comfy" offers no middle seat, one carry-on bag, one checked bag, a snack and a non-alcoholic beverage. "Go Savvy" allows for either one carry-on bag or one checked bag and standard seat selection during booking. "Go" is just a basic fare with the option to purchase any ancillaries a la carte.
"The airline is introducing new offerings, including brand-new premium selections, as part of a significant transformation that delivers an even friendlier, more comfortable, and cost-effective travel experience," Christie said at the time.
Spirit projects these moves to generate 13 percent more revenue per passenger, according to Reuters, which also reported the carrier intends to redesign its loyalty program and enter into alliances with other airlines.
Spirit's refinancing and refocus comes just days after low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines announced it would begin to charge most customers for checked bags. Its "bags fly free" policy had been one of the key differentiators from competitors for the Dallas-based carrier. Southwest also has been on a transformation trajectory since last summer, with assigned seating and extra legroom seats planned for 2026, red-eye flying that launched in February, and its first international partner, Icelandair.
These "transformations" with added premium offerings are an industry trend as LCCs and ULCCs have struggled since the pandemic compared with legacy carriers. The gaps between the tiers and services of legacy versus LCC versus ULCC have been shrinking.
In addition, Frontier Airlines in January made an offer to acquire Spirit, but the latter declined the proposal. It was Frontier's second attempt at a merger. The first was in 2022 when Spirit had agreed to a $2.9. million deal. JetBlue countered and eventually won a bidding war with a $3.8 billion offer. But Spirit and JetBlue called off their plans after a judge ruled against the merger in a suit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.