Spirit Airlines (SAVEQ) Risk Factors

Airlines are subject to extensive and increasing regulatory and legal compliance requirements, both domestically and internationally, that involve significant costs. In the last several years, Congress has passed laws, and the DOT, FAA and TSA have issued regulations, relating to the operation of airlines that have required significant expenditures. We expect to continue to incur expenses in connection with complying with government regulations. Additional laws, regulations, taxes and increased airport rates and charges have been proposed from time to time that could significantly increase the cost of airline operations or reduce the demand for air travel. If adopted, these measures could have the effect of raising ticket prices, reducing revenue and increasing costs. The DOT has been aggressive in enforcing regulations for violations of the tarmac delay rules, passenger with disability rules, advertising rules and other consumer protection rules that could increase the cost of airline operations or reduce revenues. In December 2020, the DOT issued a Final Rule on Traveling by Air with Service Animals. This rule limits service animals to a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, and no longer considers an emotional support animal to be a service animal. This eliminates the requirement to carry emotional support animals for free, and will likely reduce costs. Additionally, in December 2020, the DOT withdrew a Request for Information soliciting information on whether airline restrictions on the distribution or display of airline flight information constitute an unfair and deceptive business practice and/or an unfair method of competition. The DOT said that decisions on how and where to sell their services should be left to the airlines. In its first day in office, the Biden Administration issued an executive order that froze review and approval of any new rulemaking. This freeze led the DOT to withdraw the Final Rule on Tarmac Delay and the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on Airfare Advertising. The ANPRM may not be reissued. In October 2018, Congress passed the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which extends FAA funds through fiscal year 2023. The legislation contains provisions which could have effects on our results of operations and financial condition. Among other provisions, the new law requires the DOT to lift the payment cap on denied boarding compensation, create new requirements for the treatment of disabled passengers, and treble the maximum civil penalty for damage to wheelchairs and other assistive devices or for injuring a disabled passenger. Under the Act, the FAA is required to issue rules establishing minimum dimensions for passenger seats, including seat pitch, width and length. The Act also establishes new rest requirements for flight attendants and requires, within one year, that the FAA issue an order mandating installation of a secondary cockpit barrier on each new aircraft. In December 2023, Congress passed the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2023, Part II, which extends FAA funds through March 8, 2024 while Congress works to pass a long-term extension. A five-year extension of FAA funds has passed the House of Representatives, but remains stalled in the Senate. In the event that authorization of FAA funds lapses, our operations and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In January 2021, the DOT issued a final rule, effective April 2021, to clarify that the maximum amount of Denied Boarding Compensation (DBC) that a carrier may provide to a passenger denied boarding involuntarily is not limited. We cannot forecast how eliminating this maximum amount of payment will affect our costs. In 2021 and 2022, the DOT issued several NPRMs relating to air travel and airline ticketing and fees. In July 2021, the DOT issued a NRPM requiring airlines to refund checked bag fees for delayed bags if they are not delivered to the passenger within a specified number of hours and refunding ancillary fees for services related to air travel that passengers did not receive. In November 2021, the DOT reopened the comment period on a NPRM regarding short-term improvements to lavatory accessibility, including new proposed requirements for OBWs (Part 1). This NPRM was to gather information about all aspects of OBW design, including stowage, before issuing any final binding regulation on the topic. In March 2022, the DOT issued a NPRM (Part 2) requiring airlines to ensure that at least one lavatory on new single-aisle aircraft with at least 125 passenger seats is large enough to permit a passenger with a disability (with the help of an assistant, if necessary) to approach, enter and maneuver within the lavatory, as necessary, to use all lavatory facilities and to leave by means of the aircraft's on-board wheel chair. If enacted as currently proposed, this NPRM (Part 2) would apply to new aircraft ordered 18 years or delivered 20 years after the effective date of a final rule. In August 2022, the DOT issued a NPRM requiring airlines and ticket agents to provide non-expiring travel vouchers or credits to consumers holding non-refundable tickets for scheduled flights to, from or within the United States as a result of the carrier cancelling or making a significant change to a scheduled flight, a serious communicable disease or for several other reasons. The NPRM will further define the terms "significant change" and "cancellation" and will require airlines and ticket agents to provide refunds if they receive significant financial assistance from the government as a result of a public health emergency. As of December 31, 2023, a final rule has not been issued; however, it is our understanding that the DOT will combine this NPRM with the July 2021 NPRM, regarding the refunding of certain checked bag fees ancillary fees. In October 2022, the DOT issued a NRPM which would require airlines to increase disclosure of bag fees, change and cancellation fees, and family seating policies during the ticket purchase process in an effort to improve the transparency of airline pricing. The comment period closed on January 23, 2023. If any of these NPRMs are enacted as proposed, they may increase our costs and our results of operations could be materially adversely affected. We cannot assure that these and other laws or regulations enacted in the future will not harm our business. In addition, the TSA mandates the federalization of certain airport security procedures and imposes additional security requirements on airports and airlines, most of which are funded by a per ticket tax on passengers and a tax on airlines. We cannot forecast what additional security and safety requirements may be imposed in the future or the costs or revenue impact that would be associated with complying with such requirements. Our ability to operate as an airline is dependent on our maintaining certifications issued to us by the DOT and the FAA. The FAA has the authority to issue mandatory orders relating to, among other things, the grounding of aircraft, inspection of aircraft, installation of new safety-related items and removal and replacement of aircraft parts that have failed or may fail in the future. A decision by the FAA to ground, or require time consuming inspections of or maintenance on, our aircraft, for any reason, could negatively affect our business and financial results. Federal law requires that air carriers operating large aircraft be continuously "fit, willing and able" to provide the services for which they are licensed. Our "fitness" is monitored by the DOT, which considers factors such as unfair or deceptive competition, advertising, baggage liability and disabled passenger transportation. While the DOT has seldom revoked a carrier's certification for lack of fitness, such an occurrence would render it impossible for us to continue operating as an airline. The DOT may also institute investigations or administrative proceedings against airlines for violations of regulations. The U.S. government is under persistent pressure to implement cost cutting and efficiency initiatives. In addition, the U.S. government has recently and may in the future experience delays in the completion of its budget process which could delay funding for government departments and agencies that regulate or otherwise are tied to the aviation industry, including the DOT and FAA. To the extent that any such initiatives or budgeting delays affect the operations of these government departments and agencies, including by forcing mandatory furloughs of government employees, our operations and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. International routes are regulated by treaties and related agreements between the United States and foreign governments. Our ability to operate international routes is subject to change because the applicable arrangements between the United States and foreign governments may be amended from time to time. Our access to new international markets may be limited by our ability to obtain the necessary certificates to fly the international routes. In addition, our operations in foreign countries are subject to regulation by foreign governments and our business may be affected by changes in law and future actions taken by such governments, including granting or withdrawal of government approvals and restrictions on competitive practices. We are subject to numerous foreign regulations based on the large number of countries outside the United States where we currently provide service. If we are not able to comply with this complex regulatory regime, our business could be significantly harmed. Please see "Business - Government Regulation." Government-imposed travel requirements and entry bans from certain countries based on emerging viruses or variants of existing viruses could be imposed in the future. We will continue to comply with all contagious disease requirements issued by the U.S. and foreign governments, but we cannot forecast what additional requirements may be imposed in the future or the extent of any pre-travel testing requirements that may be under consideration in the United States and that may be in place, or renewed, in any foreign jurisdiction we serve, including the effect of such requirements on passenger demand or the costs or revenue impact that would be associated with complying with such requirements.

We generate a relatively small but growing portion of our revenue from commissions, revenue share and other fees paid to us by third-party merchants for customer click-throughs, distribution of third-party promotional materials and referrals arising from products and services of the third-party merchants that we offer to our customers on our website. Some of these third-party referral-based offers are for memberships in discount programs or similar promotions made to customers who have purchased products from us, and for which we receive a payment from the third-party merchants for every customer that accepts the promotion. Certain of these third-party membership discount programs have been the subject of consumer complaints, litigation and regulatory actions alleging that the enrollment and billing practices involved in the programs violate various consumer protection laws or are otherwise deceptive. Any private or governmental claim or action that may be brought against us in the future relating to these third-party membership programs could result in our being obligated to pay damages or incurring legal fees in defending claims. These damages and fees could be disproportionate to the revenues we generate through these relationships. In addition, customer dissatisfaction or a significant reduction in or termination of the third-party membership discount offers on our website as a result of these claims could have a negative impact on our brand, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Although the Company and JetBlue have agreed to use reasonable best efforts, subject to certain limitations, to make certain governmental filings and obtain the required governmental approvals, including from the FCC, FAA and DOT, or expiration or earlier termination of relevant waiting periods, as the case may be, there can be no assurance that the relevant waiting periods will expire or be terminated or that the relevant approvals will be obtained. As a condition to approving the Merger, these governmental authorities may impose conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions or require divestitures or place restrictions on the conduct of the combined company's business after completion of the Merger. There can be no assurance that regulators will not impose conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions and that such conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions will not have the effect of delaying or preventing completion of the Merger or imposing additional material costs on or materially limiting the revenues of the combined company following the Merger, or otherwise adversely affecting, including to a material extent, our business, results of operations and financial condition after completion of the Merger. If we are required to divest assets or businesses, there can be no assurance that we will be able to negotiate such divestitures expeditiously or on favorable terms or that the governmental authorities will approve the terms of such divestitures. We can provide no assurance that these conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions will not result in the abandonment of the Merger. On March 7, 2023, the DOJ filed suit to block the Merger. A trial was held in late 2023. On January 16, 2024, the District Court granted the Injunction. On January 19, 2024, Spirit and JetBlue filed a notice of appeal to reverse the District Court's decision and allow Spirit and JetBlue to complete the Merger. On January 29, 2024, Spirit and JetBlue filed a request with the Court of Appeals seeking an expedited schedule for their appeal. On February 2, 2024, the Court of Appeals granted our motion, stating it would hear arguments in June 2024. The appeal of the Injunction will be time-consuming and expensive and there can be no assurance that we or JetBlue would ultimately be successful, or that if the Injunction is reversed, that the DOJ would not further appeal. Furthermore, any of the other governmental authorities from which we need approvals may also sue us and JetBlue in U.S. federal court to prevent the Merger from being consummated. Defending any such lawsuit will be time-consuming and expensive and there can be no assurance that we and JetBlue would ultimately be successful. Additionally, if the Merger is not consummated, Spirit stockholders and holders of Spirit's convertible notes and warrants will not receive the merger consideration that would have been paid at the closing of the Merger.

During 2023, 2022 and 2021, we generated non-ticket revenues of $3,024.4 million, $2,612.6 million and $1,087.8 million, respectively. Our non-ticket revenues are generally generated from charges for, among other things, baggage, bookings through certain of our distribution channels, advance seat selection, itinerary changes and loyalty programs. The DOT has rules governing many facets of the airline-consumer relationship, including, for instance, price advertising, tarmac delays, bumping of passengers from flights, ticket refunds and the carriage of disabled passengers. If we are not able to remain in compliance with these rules, the DOT may subject us to fines or other enforcement action, including requirements to modify our passenger reservations system, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. The U.S. Congress and federal administrative agencies have investigated the increasingly common airline industry practice of unbundling the pricing of certain products and services. If new taxes are imposed on non-ticket revenues, or if other laws or regulations are adopted that make unbundling of airline products and services impermissible, or more cumbersome or expensive, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed. Congressional and other government scrutiny may also change industry practice or public willingness to pay for ancillary services. See also "Risks Related to Our Business-We are subject to extensive and increasing regulation by the FAA, DOT, TSA and other U.S. and foreign governmental agencies, compliance with which could cause us to incur increased costs and adversely affect our business and financial results."

The covenants in the indenture governing the Secured Notes contains a number of provisions that impose restrictions on the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ Club program which, subject to certain exceptions, limit the ability of the Company to, among other things, amend the policies and procedures of the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ Club program in a manner that would be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect, compete with the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ Club by establishing another mileage or loyalty program (subject to certain exceptions) and sell pre-paid miles in excess of $25.0 million annually and $125.0 million in the aggregate. The indenture contains additional restrictions on the Free Spirit Program and the Spirit Saver$ Club program, including the ability to terminate or modify certain licenses and certain material Free Spirit Agreements. The indenture also requires Spirit to maintain a minimum liquidity of at least $400.0 million on a daily basis. Such covenants are in addition to the other restrictions in the indenture, such as restrictions on the ability of the issuers and guarantors of the Secured Notes to make restricted payments, incur additional indebtedness, enter into certain transactions with affiliates, create or incur certain liens on the collateral, merge, consolidate, or sell assets, sell, transfer or otherwise convey the collateral and designate certain subsidiaries as unrestricted. Complying with these covenants and other restrictive covenants that may be contained in any future debt agreements will limit our ability to operate our business and may limit our ability to take advantage of business opportunities that are in our long-term interest. The failure to comply with any of these covenants or restrictions could result in a default under the indenture governing the Secured Notes or any future debt agreement, which could lead to an acceleration of the debt under such instruments and, in some cases, the acceleration of debt under other instruments that contain cross-default or cross-acceleration provisions, each of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company. In the case of an event of default, or in the event of a cross-default or cross-acceleration, we may not have sufficient funds available to make the required payments under our debt agreements.

During the Chapter 11 Cases, we expect our financial results to be volatile as restructuring activities and expenses, contract terminations and rejections, and claims assessments significantly impact our consolidated financial statements. As a result, our historical financial performance is likely not indicative of our financial performance after the date of the filing of the Chapter 11 Cases.

Our operations and ability to develop and execute our business plan, our financial condition, our liquidity and our continuation as a going concern are subject to the risks and uncertainties associated with our Chapter 11 Cases. These risks include the following: - our ability to consummate a plan of reorganization with respect to the Chapter 11 Cases;- the high costs of bankruptcy cases and related fees;- the imposition of restrictions or obligations on the Company by regulators related to the bankruptcy and emergence from Chapter 11;- our ability to obtain sufficient financing to allow us to emerge from bankruptcy and execute our business plan post-emergence;- Bankruptcy Court rulings in the Chapter 11 Cases, as well as the outcome of all other pending litigation and the outcome of the Chapter 11 Cases generally;- our ability to maintain our relationships with our general unsecured creditors, employees, customers, vendors, suppliers, aircraft lessors, holders of secured aircraft indebtedness and other third parties;- our ability to maintain contracts that are critical to our operations;- our ability to execute competitive contracts with third parties;- our ability to attract, motivate, and retain key employees;- the ability of third parties to seek and obtain court approval to terminate contracts and other agreements with us;- our ability to retain our current management team; and - the actions and decisions of our stockholders, creditors and other third parties who have interests in our Chapter 11 Cases that may be inconsistent with our plans.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and their aftermath negatively affected the airline industry. The primary effects experienced by the airline industry included: - substantial loss of revenue and flight disruption costs caused by the grounding of all commercial air traffic in or headed to the United States by the FAA for days after the terrorist attacks;- increased security and insurance costs;- increased concerns about future terrorist attacks;- airport shutdowns and flight cancellations and delays due to security breaches and perceived safety threats; and - significantly reduced passenger traffic and yields due to the subsequent dramatic drop in demand for air travel. Since September 11, 2001, the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA have implemented numerous security measures that restrict airline operations and increase costs, and are likely to implement additional measures in the future. For example, following the widely publicized attempt of an alleged terrorist to detonate plastic explosives hidden underneath his clothes on a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day in 2009, passengers became subject to enhanced random screening, which included pat-downs, explosive detection testing and body scans. Enhanced passenger screening, increased regulation governing carry-on baggage and other similar restrictions on passenger travel may further increase passenger inconvenience and reduce the demand for air travel. In addition, increased or enhanced security measures have tended to result in higher governmental fees imposed on airlines, resulting in higher operating costs for airlines, which we may not be able to pass on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Any future terrorist attacks or attempted attacks, even if not made directly on the airline industry, or the fear of such attacks or other hostilities (including elevated national threat warnings or selective cancellation or redirection of flights due to terror threats) would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and on the airline industry in general.

Our success depends to a significant extent upon the efforts and abilities of our senior management team and key financial and operating personnel. In particular, we depend on the services of our senior management team. Competition for highly qualified personnel is intense. For example, the pendency of the Merger may make it difficult to retain and hire qualified personnel. The loss of any executive officer or other key employee without adequate replacement or the inability to attract new qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We do not maintain key-person life insurance on our management team.

We rely on third-party distribution channels, including those provided by or through global distribution systems, or GDSs, conventional travel agents and online travel agents, or OTAs, to distribute a portion of our airline tickets, and we expect in the future to rely on these channels to an increasing extent to collect ancillary revenues. These distribution channels are more expensive and at present have less functionality in respect of ancillary revenues than those we operate ourselves, such as our call centers and our website. Certain of these distribution channels also effectively restrict the manner in which we distribute our products generally. To remain competitive, we will need to successfully manage our distribution costs and rights, and improve the functionality of third-party distribution channels, while maintaining an industry-competitive cost structure. Negotiations with key GDSs and OTAs designed to manage our costs, increase our distribution flexibility, and improve functionality could be contentious, could result in diminished or less favorable distribution of our tickets, and may not provide the functionality we require to maximize ancillary revenues. Any inability to manage our third-party distribution costs, rights and functionality at a competitive level or any material diminishment in the distribution of our tickets could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position and our results of operations. Moreover, our ability to compete in the markets we serve may be threatened by changes in technology or other factors that may make our existing third-party sales channels impractical, uncompetitive or obsolete.

From time to time, we may enter into fuel derivative contracts in order to mitigate the risk to our business from future volatility in fuel prices, refining risk between the price of crude oil and the price of refined jet fuel, and to manage the risk of increasing fuel prices. Our derivatives may generally consist of United States Gulf Coast jet fuel swaps ("jet fuel swaps") and United States Gulf Coast jet fuel options ("jet fuel options"). Both jet fuel swaps and jet fuel options can be used at times to protect the refining risk between the price of crude oil and the price of refined jet fuel, and to manage the risk of increasing fuel prices. As of December 31, 2023, we had no outstanding jet fuel derivatives, and we have not engaged in fuel derivative activity since 2015. There can be no assurance that we will be able to enter into fuel derivative contracts in the future if we are required or choose to do so. In the past we have not had, and in the future we may not have, sufficient creditworthiness or liquidity to post the collateral necessary to hedge our fuel requirements. Our liquidity and general level of capital resources impacts our ability to hedge our fuel requirements. Even if we are able to hedge portions of our future fuel requirements, we cannot guarantee that our derivative contracts will provide sufficient protection against increased fuel costs or that our counterparties will be able to perform under our derivative contracts, such as in the case of a counterparty's insolvency. Furthermore, our ability to react to the cost of fuel, absent hedging, is limited because we set the price of tickets in advance of incurring fuel costs. Our ability to pass on any significant increases in aircraft fuel costs through fare increases could also be limited. In the event of a reduction in fuel prices compared to our hedged position, if any, our hedged positions could counteract the cost benefit of lower fuel prices and may require us to post cash margin collateral. In a falling fuel price environment, we may be required to make cash payments to our counterparties which may impair our liquidity position and increase our costs. Please see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Trends and Uncertainties Affecting Our Business-Aircraft Fuel."

Aircraft fuel costs represented 31.1%, 34.1% and 27.8% of our total operating expenses for 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. As such, our operating results are significantly affected by changes in the availability and the cost of aircraft fuel, especially aircraft fuel refined in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, on which we are highly dependent. Both the cost and the availability of aircraft fuel are subject to many meteorological, economic and political factors and events occurring throughout the world, which we can neither control nor accurately predict. For example, a major hurricane making landfall along the Gulf Coast could disrupt oil production, refinery operations and pipeline capacity in that region, possibly resulting in significant increases in the price of aircraft fuel and diminished availability of aircraft fuel supply. Any disruption to oil production, refinery operations, or pipeline capacity in the Gulf Coast region could have a disproportionate impact on our operating results compared to other airlines that have more diversified fuel sources. Fuel prices also may be affected by geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions and events that are outside of our control, including volatility in the relative strength of the U.S. dollar, the currency in which oil is denominated. Instability within major oil producing regions, such as the Middle East and Venezuela, Russia's ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza, changes in demand from major petroleum users such as China, and secular increases in competing energy sources are examples of these trends. Aircraft fuel prices have been subject to high volatility, fluctuating substantially over the past several years. For example, our fuel prices spiked at a high of $3.82 per gallon, in the third quarter of 2022, and fell as low as $1.05 per gallon in the second quarter of 2020. We cannot predict the future availability, price volatility or cost of aircraft fuel. Due to the large proportion of aircraft fuel costs in our total operating cost base, even a relatively small increase or decrease in the price of aircraft fuel can have a significant negative impact on our operating costs or revenues and on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our low-cost structure is one of our primary competitive advantages. However, we have limited control over many of our costs. For example, we have limited control over the price and availability of aircraft fuel, aviation insurance, airport costs and related infrastructure taxes, the cost of meeting changing regulatory requirements and our cost to access capital or financing. In addition, the compensation and benefit costs applicable to a significant portion of our employees are established by the terms of our collective bargaining agreements. We cannot guarantee we will be able to maintain a cost advantage over our competitors. If our cost structure increases and we are no longer able to maintain a sufficient cost advantage over our competitors, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.