Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy protection, seeks reboot as travel slows

Spirit Airlines said Monday that it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will attempt to reboot as it struggles to recover from the pandemic-caused swoon in travel, stiffer competition from bigger carriers, and a failed attempt to sell the airline to JetBlue.Spirit, the biggest U.S. budget airline, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition after working out terms with bondholders. The airline has lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020 and faces looming debt payments totaling more than $1 billion in 2025 and 2026.The airline said it expects to continue operating normally during the bankruptcy process. Spirit told customers Monday they can book flights and use frequent-flyer points as they ordinarily would, and said employees and vendors would continue getting paid.The airline said it received commitments for a $350 million equity investment from existing bondholders and will convert $795 million of their debt into stock in the restructured company. The bondholders will also extend a $300 million loan that, combined with Spirit’s remaining cash, will help the airline get through the restructuring.The airline’s shares dropped 25% on Friday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the airline was discussing terms of a possible bankruptcy filing with its bondholders....