Besieged by creditors and weighed down by debt, Spirit Airlines has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, hoping to restructure its debt while remaining airborne.
The troubled budget carrier had been hoping to save itself through a merger with JetBlue but a federal judge blocked the deal in January, saying the merger would have cost consumers. Spirit then tried to resurrect an earlier deal with Frontier but that apparently went nowhere.
Spirit has already reached a reorganization agreement with several of its major bondholders and will continue to operate while the process moves forward, the compamy said.
"I am pleased we have reached an agreement with a supermajority of both our loyalty and convertible bondholders on a comprehensive recapitalization of the company, which is a strong vote of confidence in Spirit and our long-term plan," said Ted Christie, Spirit's President and Chief Executive Officer, in a news release.
Spirit said customers can continue to book and fly without interruption and can use all tickets, credits and loyalty points as normal and said the chapter 11 process itself will not impact workers' wages or benefits, which are continuing to be paid and honored for those employed by Spirit.