"Spirit Airlines has reached an agreement with its lenders to emerge from bankruptcy by early summer as a smaller, but still independent, company.

The discount airline is set to tell a bankruptcy judge Tuesday that its deal with lenders will allow it to exit from the chapter 11 proceedings with a stronger balance sheet and a reduced fleet size.

Spirit returned to bankruptcy court in August, less than a year after a previous chapter 11 restructuring failed to solve financial challenges posed by its no-frills business model.

The carrier has been unloading planes to save money and cut debt amid choppy demand in the overstupplied market for low-cost flying. Under the agreement, Spirit is projected to cut its annual fleet costs by more than $550 million, a reduction of over 65% from levels before its latest bankruptcy."

Nothing filed with the bankruptcy court yet.