Spirit has been suffering from the Pratt engine issues since they first got them. The motors have been a disaster for them.
I remember seeing bunches of brand new Spirit NEOS sitting with no engines on them in DFW 4 or 5 years ago. Two totally separate issues btw. Currently they have 40 planes grounded! That's brutal to the bottom line.
I don't think Spirit is going out of business though. They have a lot of cash on hand right now. If they do decide to try a trip thru chapter 11 they will come out the other side. Now, they could certainly get bought out in Chapter 11, but the planes will keep flying. At least the ones that have friggin engines on them.
The posts above regarding the economy are mostly correct. Lots of people just haven't felt the pinch that makes them look for cheaper alternatives yet. It's coming though. People are still spending like we just got out of covid lockdowns. It's pretty amazing actually. Credit card debt is at an all time high, car loans, mortgage payments, etc are all at all time highs. People are dropping money like there's no tomorrow, and that hasn't been good to the low cost airlines.
The economy and people's spending habits are constantly shifting and right now the ulccs have found themselves in an oddly difficult spot. The one thing I don't really agree with that's been said above is touting the success of the basic economy tix at the big airlines. I don't think that's as big a success as some. I think most people are still paying for high dollar tickets.
I have been a firm believer in the ulcc business model and I continue to be. The most surprising thing to me lately has been the financial success of the legacies the last 2 years. They just keep raking it in. But it can't last forever and when travel demand and people willing to pay $750 fur a round trip domestic ticket wane, they will be stuck with their super high cost structure.
Also, for the younger, newer crowd; don't ever forget that this is a brutally hard industry. The history of airline bankrupbankruptcies, furloughs, pay cuts, etc is a long and rich one.
Edit: I thought this thread was in the Frontier subsection. My bad. I thought I was writing to the Frontier pilot group. Sorry if this sounded weird