If you’ve spent any time lately squinting at your brokerage screen trying to figure out why your Spirit Airlines shares look like a different language, you aren’t alone. It’s been a messy few years. Honestly, the situation with the spirit airlines stock symbol has become a bit of a moving target. People are still searching for "SAVE" only to find a bunch of letters ending in "Q" or seeing news about a symbol they’ve never even heard of.
Basically, the ticker symbol you see today isn't just a label. It’s a warning sign.
Right now, if you look up the company, you’re most likely going to see FLYYQ. But wait, what happened to SAVE? And why are there two different symbols floating around the over-the-counter (OTC) markets? To understand where the money is—or more accurately, where it went—you have to look at the wreckage of two separate bankruptcies and a merger that never was.
The Death of SAVE and the Rise of FLYYQ
For years, Spirit Airlines was known by the ticker SAVE. It was catchy. It fit the "ultra-low-cost carrier" (ULCC) vibe. But when Spirit filed for its first Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2024, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) did what it always does with companies that can’t meet listing requirements: it kicked them out.
The stock moved to the pink sheets and became SAVEQ.
That "Q" at the end is the scarlet letter of the stock market. It tells every trader and algorithm that the company is currently in bankruptcy proceedings. Most people thought that was the end of the story. They were wrong.
In April 2025, Spirit actually managed to emerge from that first bankruptcy. They rebranded the parent company as Spirit Aviation Holdings, Inc. and got a fresh start on the NYSE American exchange under the symbol FLYY. It was supposed to be a "new beginning."
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It lasted about four months.
By August 2025, the wheels had come off again. High debt, engine issues with their Pratt & Whitney fleet, and brutal competition from the big guys like United and Delta forced them back into court. This second filing—which is incredibly rare for a major airline to do twice in one year—led to another delisting.
Now, as of early 2026, the primary spirit airlines stock symbol is FLYYQ.
Why the Market is Watching FLYYQ (and Ignoring SAVEQ)
You might still see SAVEQ quoted on some finance apps. Kinda confusing, right?
Here is the deal: SAVEQ represents the "old" equity from the 2024 filing. In almost every bankruptcy case, the old shares are eventually cancelled and rendered worthless. Most serious traders have moved their eyes to FLYYQ, which represents the equity of the reorganized company that failed for the second time in August 2025.
As of January 13, 2026, FLYYQ is trading for pennies—literally around $0.22 per share.
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If you’re thinking about "buying the dip," you need to be really careful. In the current Chapter 11 plan filed in the Southern District of New York (Case No. 25-11897), Spirit has been pretty blunt. They’ve stated in SEC filings that they expect the common stock to be cancelled and have no value once the restructuring is finished.
Basically, the "owners" of the company right now are the people Spirit owes money to—the bondholders and lessors—not the people holding FLYYQ shares.
The Frontier Merger: A 2026 Hail Mary?
The only reason the stock hasn't hit zero yet is the "merger rumor" premium.
In December 2025, reports started swirling that Spirit and Frontier Airlines were back at the table. Remember, these two were supposed to merge back in 2022 before JetBlue crashed the party with a higher bid that eventually got blocked by the Department of Justice.
Now, with a different regulatory environment in 2026, a "Spirit-Frontier" tie-up looks like the only way for the airline to survive.
- Synergy: Frontier and Spirit use similar Airbus planes.
- Survival: Experts like JetBlue founder Dave Neeleman have said there’s only room for one major ULCC in the U.S.
- The Catch: Even if a merger happens, it’s usually the creditors who get the new shares. Existing FLYYQ holders might get nothing, or maybe a tiny fraction of "warrants" if they're lucky.
Is Spirit Still Flying?
This is the question travelers care about way more than the spirit airlines stock symbol.
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Yes. Spirit is still operating.
They actually finished 2025 with some of their best on-time performance numbers in years, ranking third among North American carriers according to Cirium data. They’ve also secured $50 million in "debtor-in-possession" (DIP) financing to keep the lights on through the early months of 2026.
If you have a ticket, you're likely fine. If you have "Free Spirit" points, you can still use them. But the stock? That’s a whole different kind of turbulence.
What You Should Do Next
If you are holding FLYYQ or SAVEQ, you need to treat this as a high-risk gamble, not an investment.
- Read the Dockets: Don't trust TikTok or "diamond hand" memes. Go to the Epiq 11 site where the actual court documents are filed.
- Monitor the Effective Date: Once the court confirms a "Plan of Reorganization," a date is set where the old stock symbols are officially deleted. If you don't sell before then, your shares will literally vanish from your account.
- Watch Frontier (ULCC): If you want to bet on a budget airline recovery without the bankruptcy risk, Frontier’s stock is the one that usually moves based on Spirit news.
The reality of the spirit airlines stock symbol in 2026 is that it’s a ghost of a company that is being rebuilt from the ground up. Whether the "New Spirit" will ever be a public stock again under a symbol like SAVE or FLYY remains to be seen, but for now, the "Q" tells the story.
Check your brokerage’s policy on "OTC Pink" stocks. Many platforms, like Cash App or certain basic Robinhood tiers, may only let you sell your existing position rather than buy more. This "sell-only" status is common for symbols like FLYYQ and often leads to a slow, steady bleed in price as no new buyers can enter the fray. Unless a white knight acquisition specifically includes a payout for common shareholders—which is as rare as a free checked bag on Spirit—the finish line for this ticker looks pretty bleak.
Disclaimer: I am an expert content writer, not a financial advisor. Stock market investing, especially in distressed or bankrupt companies like Spirit Aviation Holdings, Inc., involves extreme risk of total loss. Always consult with a certified financial professional before making trades.