American Airlines requests notices in Spirit bankruptcy proceedings

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By Doyinsola Oladipo

NEW YORK, Dec 7 (Reuters) – American Airlines filed a notice of appearance in Spirit Aviation bankruptcy proceedings and requested to receive all notices and papers served moving forward, according to a court filing. 

In August, Spirit filed for bankruptcy for a second time as it grappled with dwindling cash reserves and mounting losses. The airline said it was exploring all potential opportunities in its restructuring efforts including a merger or sale of the company.

In a December 5 filing in the Southern District of New York, American Airlines requested to receive all notices including operating reports, plans of reorganization and liquidation statements. 

The filing is related to an “airport-specific agreement,” said an American Airlines spokesperson.

Spirit did not return a request for comment.

Spirit previously said that it was considering all options for the future of the airline.

“The value maximizing outcome may be a merger or sale of the company; Spirit is actively working to explore all potential opportunities. The company is actively engaged in discussions with a number of interested counterparties,” Spirit said in an October SEC filing.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request by American to overturn a judicial decision that found that the company’s scrapped U.S. Northeast partnership with JetBlue Airways violated federal antitrust law.

JetBlue has since teamed up with United Airlines in a partnership that allows travelers to book flights on both carriers’ websites.

Spirit Airlines in June urged the U.S. transportation body to reject the collaboration between United and JetBlue, saying it was anticompetitive and would prompt other large carriers to pursue similar deals.

(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)