A flight attendant who is believed to work for embattled low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines has described the heartbreaking effect that the carrier’s financial mess and recent fears that the airline is on the verge of bankruptcy are having on their mental health.
The flight attendant says that rumors that Spirit is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after racking up huge losses have left him “overwhelmed with thoughts and emotions,” which is making him feel sick and struggling to sleep at night.
“Recently I have been reevaluating everything as the state of the airline I work for which is, a U.S. based low-cost carrier; is in shambles,” the flight attendant wrote in a post on Reddit. “It is hard to ignore the elephant in the room: bankruptcy is a matter of when, not if.”
“You can probably guess which airline I work for with that small detail. With that being said, it has been weighing on my mental health for the past week or so,” the flight attendant continued.
Last week, sources cited by the Wall Street Journal claimed that Spirit Airlines was in talks with bondholders over the terms of what a bankruptcy filing might look like.
For the second quarter of 2024, Spirit posted a net loss of $192 million, blaming overcapacity across the industry and an “intense competitive battle for the price-sensitive leisure traveler.”
Spirit has been struggling for some time, but in February 2022, possible salvation came in the form of an acquisition by rival ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines. That deal was, however, abandoned when shareholders backed a rival bid by JetBlue to acquire Spirit.
The merger between JetBlue and Spirit faced fierce opposition from the Biden administration, and the Justice Department launched a legal battle to block the deal.
In January, a federal judge sided with the DOJ, arguing that the merger would hurt consumers because it would ultimately lead to the end of Spirit and its low-cost fares that many Americans rely on.
In their post, the flight attendant added: “Not sure how to navigate this and for the first time ever, I am overwhelmed with thoughts and emotions. I can’t sleep at night. It is starting to get to me really bad where it is nauseating.”
“I have this gut feeling that I need to take action sooner rather than later,” the post continued.
With no certainty in sight, the flight attendant says he’s struggling to make a decision on what to do and asked fellow crew members for their advice.
Some tried to reassure the worried flight attendant, noting that many airlines have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and have gone on to recover, while others urged the flight attendant to start making plans should the worst happen.
“You never know what’s going to happen, especially in this industry,” one person wrote. “Start to get your ducks in a row. You can wait tables and find that job pretty quickly, get your resume updated and ready, and start to look for other jobs you might be interested in.”
Another wrote: “Trust your gut. Go ahead and start applying to other airlines and give yourself a head start in the event your company does go under.”
For now, however, there is little certainty. The sources cited by the WSJ said that no decision was imminent, while there is a possibility that Spirit will try to restructure its debt outside of court.
In the meantime, however, Spirit has warned that its losses in the third quarter are expected to be even higher than the Q2.
