{"id":197914,"date":"2025-10-06T12:00:36","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/06\/spirit-airlines-bankruptcy-what-to-know-about-booking-flights-the-points-guy\/"},"modified":"2025-10-06T12:00:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T12:00:36","slug":"spirit-airlines-bankruptcy-what-to-know-about-booking-flights-the-points-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/06\/spirit-airlines-bankruptcy-what-to-know-about-booking-flights-the-points-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"Spirit Airlines bankruptcy: What to know about booking flights – The Points Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

For years, its bright-yellow planes have been a staple at airports near beaches, theme parks and the Strip in Las Vegas \u2014 and a vessel for price-conscious customers to fly on a budget.<\/p>\n

But with the holiday season now just weeks away, there are real concerns about the future of Spirit Airlines.<\/p>\n

In late August, the ultra-low-cost carrier entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy<\/a> for the second time in less than a year.<\/p>\n

The company will keep operating while it reorganizes and restructures, and has voiced confidence in its path forward.<\/p>\n

But some industry analysts and financial experts fear the airline faces a gloomier financial outlook than any major U.S. airline has in decades.<\/p>\n

“It’s pretty much a negative picture for them,” said former airline executive Ahmed Abdelghany, associate dean at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. “They lost a lot of confidence from the consumer.”<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>
Spirit Airlines at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). SEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recent weeks have seen Spirit pull out of cities it serves<\/a>, slash routes and furlough flight attendants, all while trying to reassure consumers with new credit card perks<\/a>, bonus points and its hallmark discounted fares.<\/p>\n

Now, with Thanksgiving and Christmas bookings in full swing<\/a>, how consumers respond may be the ultimate test \u2014 and questions abound.<\/p>\n

If you book on Spirit, will the flight take off? Will travelers get a refund if their flight gets cut? And what will Spirit’s woes mean for travelers, whether they fly with the discounter or not?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/picture>\n
\n

Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter<\/p>\n

Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG\u2019s experts<\/p>\n

\n
\n

By signing up, you will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy<\/a>. You may unsubscribe at any time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

We’ll try and answer as many questions as we can.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What happened to Spirit Airlines?<\/h2>\n

Think of Spirit’s problems as a perfect storm, of sorts.<\/p>\n

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the entire U.S. low-cost airline industry has faced its challenges: Consumers have flocked to large network carriers, with their lie-flat seats, robust loyalty programs and long-haul flights.<\/p>\n

But Spirit has also faced mounting debt, a failed merger attempt and \u2014 in a problem beyond its control \u2014 engine problems that grounded many of its planes.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>
ZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And its financial outlook only grew more dire after the Dania Beach, Florida-based carrier emerged from its first bankruptcy this spring<\/a>, as consumers tightened up spending and lower fares<\/a> cut into airlines’ profits.<\/p>\n

Spirit reentered Chapter 11 on Aug. 29, but not before executives shared “substantial doubt” in a federal filing<\/a> (PDF link) about its ability to keep operating<\/a> if its outlook didn’t improve.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What do Spirit’s woes mean for consumers?<\/h2>\n

That brings us to the million-dollar question: Is it risky to book a flight on Spirit if you’re planning a vacation or holiday flight home?<\/p>\n

It’s complicated.<\/p>\n

Business as usual \u2014 for now<\/h3>\n

On one hand, if you went to the airport for a Spirit flight today, you probably wouldn’t notice anything unusual.<\/p>\n

“I think as a consumer, you should feel relatively safe,” said Chris Anderson, who studies the airline industry from his faculty post at Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business.<\/p>\n

Smaller network<\/h3>\n

“At the same time,” Anderson added, “There’s going to be a lot of … uncertainty or volatility in their network.”<\/p>\n

Meaning, flight cuts.<\/p>\n

As of Oct. 6, Spirit was set to operate 28% fewer flights in the fourth quarter than it did a year ago, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.<\/p>\n

OK … so are holiday flights safe?<\/h3>\n

Chances are, if your flight has already been canceled, you probably already know about it \u2014 and are due a refund.<\/a><\/p>\n

Also, while Spirit did announce 40 planned route cuts<\/a> last week, executives said the company did not<\/i> plan to exit any more cities in the near future.<\/p>\n

While nothing is guaranteed, that could bode well for customers eyeing Spirit flights between now and the end of the year.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>
Holiday decorations at New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA). SEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Could Spirit shut down in 2026?<\/h2>\n

In the long term, there remain plenty of questions.<\/p>\n

Last week, Spirit celebrated<\/a> a “significant step” toward stabilizing the company, inking a deal with the Irish company that leases many of its planes.<\/p>\n

Before that deal, however, analysts at Raymond James considered it “highly likely” that Spirit could be forced into Chapter 7 liquidation by early 2026.<\/p>\n

In that scenario, the airline would likely cease operations altogether, perhaps grounding planes abruptly.<\/p>\n

That risk has been reduced by last week’s deal, industry analyst Savanthi Syth told TPG.<\/p>\n

But “how long this buys Spirit, and its ability to survive,” she said, will hinge on the airline striking additional deals with its unions and partners.<\/p>\n

“I think it is highly probable,” Syth added, “that Spirit is significantly smaller at the end of this process.”<\/p>\n

To that end, Spirit on Friday said it would get rid of more than 100 aircraft<\/a> in a move expected to save the company hundreds of millions of dollars annually.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What to know if you’re booking Spirit Airlines flights<\/h2>\n

However this turns out, there are some things travelers should know.<\/p>\n

DOT refund rules<\/h3>\n

If you book a Spirit flight and it gets canceled \u2014 whatever the reason \u2014 you should still have protections in place.<\/p>\n

For starters, U.S. Department of Transportation rules guarantee timely refunds<\/a> to customers when an airline cancels their flight.<\/p>\n

And Anderson, of Cornell, believes travelers who book Spirit tickets would get their money back \u2014 even if the airline’s finances someday led to a worst-case-scenario shuttering of operations.<\/p>\n

“I think consumers would get made whole,” he said. “I think that we have the checks and balances in place.”<\/p>\n

Read more: Getting a refund for a canceled or delayed flight: What to know in 2025<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Spirit<\/div>
ZACH GRIFF\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Should Spirit customers buy travel insurance?<\/h3>\n

What about a travel insurance plan, to be extra safe? After all, some plans cover financial default by an airline.<\/p>\n

New bookings likely wouldn’t be eligible for that coverage, said Chrissy Valdez, senior director of operations at insurance marketplace Squaremouth.<\/p>\n

That’s because Spirit’s bankruptcy would probably count, at this point, as a “known event,” akin to a preexisting condition.<\/p>\n

Travel credit cards with insurance<\/h3>\n

However, savvy travelers with a credit card that has built-in travel insurance might have better luck \u2014 as long as they use that card to book their trip.<\/p>\n

“Many credit cards with built-in travel protections contain trip cancellation and interruption coverage, and sometimes may cover financial insolvency or default of a travel provider,” Valdez said, while cautioning that each policy is different.<\/p>\n

Here are some of our favorite credit cards with travel insurance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more: Should you get travel insurance if you have credit card protection?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Book with a credit card, regardless<\/h3>\n

In any case, we recommend booking Spirit flights (and all flights, actually) with a credit card,<\/a> and not just to earn points.<\/p>\n

If all other refund efforts fail, federal law could be on your side.<\/p>\n

The Fair Credit Billing Act<\/a> gives consumers the right to dispute credit card charges for services paid for but not rendered \u2014 so this could be a backup way to recover money paid for a flight that doesn’t take off.<\/p>\n

What about Free Spirit points?<\/h3>\n

Technically, airlines control their frequent flyer rewards, and if the airline were to liquidate, the points would likely cease to exist along with the carrier.<\/p>\n

However, that wouldn’t preclude a competitor stepping in to try to win customers who had flown with Spirit.<\/p>\n

It’s possible we could see other airlines offer points or status matches to Free Spirit loyalists \u2014 something top competitor Frontier Airlines already dabbled in<\/a> \u2014 but there would be plenty of uncertainty in this area.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Three<\/div>
JETLINER IMAGES\/GETTY IMAGES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

What a smaller Spirit could mean for airfare<\/h2>\n

You don’t have to be a frequent Spirit flyer to feel the impact of the carrier becoming a smaller player at airports across the country.<\/p>\n

“Even if you never fly Spirit, you owe them a debt of gratitude for cheaper fares on the airlines you do fly,” said Scott Keyes, founder and chief flight expert at Going<\/a>, noting research that shows competitor airlines have historically dropped prices by an average of 19% on routes Spirit launched.<\/p>\n

“In a world without Spirit, Delta can get people to pay $300 or more for a flight from New York City to Miami,” Keyes said. “But when Spirit offers the same route for $49, it forces Delta to drop their fares or risk losing customers.”<\/p>\n

Related reading:<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For years, its bright-yellow planes have been a staple at airports near beaches, theme parks and the Strip in Las Vegas \u2014 and a vessel for price-conscious customers to fly on a budget. But with the holiday season now just weeks away, there are real concerns about the future of Spirit Airlines. In late August, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":197915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-197914","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-travel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}