According to sources close to the matter, Spirit Airlines may shut down as early as this week. Speaking anonymously to CNBC, he said, “The budget carrier is struggling to regain its footing from its second bankruptcy in less than a year, but it now faces the additional challenge of rising fuel prices. Fuel is airlines’ biggest expense after labor”.
It is unclear when the carrier might begin liquidation, and it was also not immediately clear whether it would ultimately go that route.
Spirit began to suffer after the pandemic, CNBC wrote, when wages and other costs rose, customer preferences changed and an oversupply of domestic flights drove down airfares.
CNBC also noted how pilot and flight attendant unions had made concessions in recent months to help Spirit survive. It was also reported that the airline planned to exit bankruptcy earlier this spring and focus on high-demand travel periods and routes.
Skyrocketing jet fuel costs after the war in Iran also played a role. Citing JPMorgan, CNBC said that if fuel remains at around $4.60 a gallon this year, Spirit’s projected operating margin for the 2026 fiscal year will range from negative 7 percent to negative 20 percent.
CNBC also said that Spirit had projected a net profit of $252 million last year, according to a court filing in December 2024, but in an August report it said that by the end of June, after exiting its first Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it had lost about $257 million in the months since March 13. “We do not comment on market rumors and speculation,” Spirit said in a statement, quoting the same TV producer.
Spirit Airlines, Inc. is an American ultra-low-cost airline headquartered in Denia Beach, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area and operating scheduled flights throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
