Spirit Airlines’ Reset: Can Shrinking Save an Airline?

Spirit Airlines’ Reset: Can Shrinking Save an Airline?

Spirit Airlines emerged from Chapter 11 in March 2025—just four months after filing—becoming the first major U.S. airline since 2011 to use bankruptcy protection to reset its business. What has unfolded is one of the most dramatic restructurings in the modern U.S. low-cost sector, leaving the airline far smaller, financially reworked, and with an untested plan to reinvent its brand. Below is a picture of what Spirit has actually done—what it gai…