Spirit Airlines Hires New CEO – a Former Leader of Sun Country – to Plot Post-Bankruptcy Course
Dave Davis, most recently the president and chief financial officer at Sun Country, will begin his tenure as CEO of Spirit on Monday, April 21.
(Miramar, Florida) Spirit Airlines has hired former president and chief financial officer of Sun Country (NASDAQ: SNCY), Dave Davis, as its new chief executive officer; Davis will assume the role on Monday, April 21, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Photo of Spirit Airlines incoming Chief Executive Officer, Dave Davis, Sun Country’s former president and chief financial officer, courtesy of Sun Country via the Wall Street Journal.
Prior to his most recent role at Sun Country, Davis held a number of senior roles in the airline industry, including finance chief for Northwest Airlines prior to its acquisition by Delta, per the WSJ.
Spirit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2023 in order to restructure its debt after years of losses, after a failed merger attempt with JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU). The airline parted ways with former CEO Ted Christie and Chief Commercial Officer Matt Klein earlier this month, according to the WSJ.
Spirit’s management overhaul also includes the onramp of Trey Urbahn, a former JetBlue and TAP Air Portugal executive who has served on the board of startup Breeze Airways who will advise Spirit on commercial strategy, and Duncan Dee, a former chief operating officer at Air Canada, who will oversee communications at Spirit.
The management changes occur as Spirit continues to fend off takeover attempts from rival budget carrier Frontier Airlines (NASDAQ: ULCC), and will likely continue to face challenges associated with the prospect of economic downturn, with budget consumers potentially restraining from travel.
