Spirit Airlines is gearing up to shrink to a tiny version of its former self in an attempt to survive, according to a new plan it unveiled in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Tuesday.
The budget-travel icon said it will get rid of even more of its Airbus fleet as it plans to exit its second bankruptcy in less than a year. It expects to emerge in late spring or early summer, Spirit’s lawyer, Marshall Huebner of Davis Polk, said at a hearing.
The airline has reached an agreement in principle with its creditors for the plan, Huebner said, adding that secured lenders will make “material incremental liquidity available to Spirit via the release of cash collateral.”
In its second bankruptcy, Spirit had held deal talks with Frontier Airlines
, and with investment firm Castlelake. Nothing materialized, but Huebner hinted a combination could be back on the table.
