A Spirit Airlines Airbus A320 taxis at Los Angeles International Airport after arriving from Boston on September 1, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images News | Getty Images
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Spirit Airlines is making “massive progress” to revitalize the airline, the carrier’s restructuring lawyer Marshall Huebner said in a court hearing Tuesday.
The struggling budget airline has reached an agreement with debtholders for up to $475 million in debtor-in-possession financing as well as $150 million from a major aircraft lessor, Huebner said. The $475 million is subject to court approval.
Spirit last month filed for its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in less than a year after high costs, weaker demand and a host of other lingering problems drove more than $250 million in losses from when it emerged from bankruptcy in March through June.
The carrier has been racing to cut costs, and recently announced plans to cut 40 routes and furlough about one-third of its flight attendants. The airline is in talks with its pilots’ union and is seeking about $100 million in cuts from that group.
Huebner, a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, said in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Tuesday that people pessimistic about the struggling carrier’s turnaround prospects should “say less” and observe what it’s doing.