(Reuters) – Spirit Airlines, one of the lowest-cost airlines in the United States, said on Monday it filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection after facing a long streak of quarterly results negative and unsuccessful merger attempts, while certain debt maturities are imminent.

Spirit Airlines suffered heavy losses despite strong demand as the airline known for its bright yellow uniform struggled with rising operating costs.

These difficulties were then exacerbated by the failure in January of its planned $3.8 billion (€3.60 billion) merger with JetBlue Airways, as well as the fallout from the engine incident. RTX’s Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan (GTF) that grounded many of its aircraft.

The airline listed its assets and liabilities estimated to be worth between $1 billion and $10 billion each, according to a court filing Monday.

Spirit has reached an agreement with its bondholders that is expected to reduce its total debt and increase its financial flexibility.

As part of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the company received a commitment for a $350 million capital investment from its existing bondholders.

These will also provide $300 million in the form of debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing, which, together with available liquidity, is expected to support the airline through the planned bankruptcy proceedings.

The carrier said it plans to continue its flight operations throughout the procedure, specifying that its customers can continue to book flights.

Spirit plans its delisting from the New York Stock Exchange in the near term and has stated its intention to exit Chapter 11 proceedings during the first quarter of 2025.

Spirit’s stock, whose price was suspended on Monday, has fallen more than 90% this year.

(Written by Shivansh Tiwary in Bangalore; Pauline Foret; edited by Augustin Turpin)

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