(Added details about Christie in paragraph 5, company background for paragraphs 3 and 8-11)
April 7 (Reuters) – CEO Ted Christie resigned immediately as a few weeks after the company stood out from bankruptcy and reorganized its board, US discount airline Spirit Airlines said on Monday.
Chief Business Officer Matt Klein will also leave and will be inherited by insider Rana Ghosh.
The departure event comes when the operator strives to stay away from its flaky images and rebrand it as a premium airline.
The CEO’s interim office, composed of Chief Financial Officer Fred Cromer, Chief Operating Officer John Bendoraitis and General Counsel Thomas Canfield, will lead the company until the new chief is named.
Christie joined Spirit in 2012 as Treasurer and took the helm in 2019.
He guided airlines through the devastation of the pandemic, with low-cost carriers struggling to cope with challenging times of rising costs and traveler preparation in order to pay for an extra comfort journey as they pursue experience.
The Florida-based carrier filed for bankruptcy protection last November, after years of losses and heavy debts and failed attempts to merge.
Spirit has been merging with Frontier Group since at least 2022, but ending them, supporting rival Jetblue Airways’ more attractive offer.
Its merger with JetBlue was eventually repealed after a U.S. judge blocked it over anti-competitive issues.
The spirit of transfer to premiums is estimated to increase revenue per passenger by 13%, and plans to improve their loyalty programs and join forces with other carriers.
(Reported by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bangalore; Editors by Shilpi Majumdar and Sriraj Kalluvila)
