Spirit Airlines ‘on verge of bankruptcy’ as merger ‘collapses’ months after CEO warns travelers are ‘long term losers’
SPIRIT Airlines chiefs are thought to be planning to file for bankruptcy after a proposed merger with another low-cost carrier reportedly collapsed.
Execs were in talks with Frontier bosses over a potential deal, but talks are said to have broken down.
Sources told the Wall Street Journal that Spirit could file for bankruptcy within weeks.
The beleaguered carrier has around $3 billion worth of debts, and execs have been scrambling to cut costs.
Chiefs have been negotiating deals to sell planes and have even furloughed staffers.
The uncertainty has sparked fears that routes could be canceled, potentially plunging travelers into jeopardy.
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It comes after the company’s CEO, Ted Christie, blasted the state of the airline industry, warning in an earnings call that customers are “long-term losers.”
“Today, nearly all the profits of the entire U.S. airline industry are concentrated in just two companies, while the smaller non-legacy carriers scrambled to restore profitability in what seems ever more like a rigged game,” he said.
“The Big Four are the beneficiaries of this new normal.
“American consumers are the long-term losers.”
The so-called big four carriers are American Airlines, Southwest, Delta, and United Airlines.
This is a developing story…
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