Spirit Airlines appoints Sun Country executive Dave Davis as new CEO

Reuters

Thu, Apr 17, 2025, 6:18 AM 1 min read

(Reuters) -Spirit Airlines on Thursday appointed Dave Davis as its new chief executive officer, weeks after the U.S. discount carrier emerged from bankruptcy and reconstituted its board.

Davis, joining from rival Sun Country Airlines where he was the finance chief since 2018, will be tasked with a business overhaul as Spirit works to move away from its no-frills image and rebrand itself as a premium airline, after years of mounting losses.

The appointment, effective April 21, comes just more than a week after Ted Christie stepped down from the helm of Spirit with immediate effect as part of a shakeup.

Davis had previously worked as the CFO of Northwest Airlines before its merger with Delta Air Lines.

Sun Country in a separate regulatory filing on Thursday announced Davis' departure effective immediately.

Spirit had set up an interim office of the CEO, consisting of Chief Financial Officer Fred Cromer, Chief Operating Officer John Bendoraitis and General Counsel Thomas Canfield to lead the airline until they found a new chief.

The Florida-based carrier filed for bankruptcy protection last November, following years of losses and heavy debt, as well as failed merger attempts.

(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Shilpi Majumdar)