Spirit Airlines to cut fleet by almost 100 planes amid bankruptcy restructuring, CFO says

A Spirit Airlines 319 Airbus approaches Manchester Boston Regional Airport for a landing, Friday, June 2, 2023, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Spirit Airlines plans to shrink its fleet by nearly 100 aircraft, nearly half of its fleet, as part of a sweeping bankruptcy restructuring process, CFO Fred Cromer said on Friday during a virtual meeting with creditors.

The ultra-low-cost-carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time this year after a prolonged period of financial strain. The carrier, which currently operates 214 aircraft, is using bankruptcy tools to eliminate unprofitable routes and reduce its operations.

The company said in a statement that it filed a motion with the court on Thursday to reject 87 additional aircraft leases.

“The motion is subject to court approval, and we continue to engage with key stakeholders, including our lessors, as part of our ongoing restructuring to position Spirit for the future,” it said.

The carrier said it has until October 27 to finalize its aircraft needs and that it will use the time to continue negotiations with its lessors, which may result in aircraft being removed from the proposed rejection list.

The strategy is expected to save the company “hundreds of millions of dollars” in costs, Cromer said, allowing it to “support a much smaller and stronger Spirit Airlines.”

Industry overcapacity among low-cost carriers combined with low passenger demand, significant downward pressure in pricing, and an influx of low-fare seats at legacy airlines led the company to bankruptcy, Cromer said.

“While the industry was hopeful at the beginning of 2025 that there would be a rebound, it didn’t happen,” he said. “That obviously led to the situation that we’re in today.”

In recent weeks, Spirit has announced plans to exit service at more than a dozen U.S. airports, including Hartford, Connecticut, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, and suspended roughly 40 routes as part of its restructuring plan.

The company said it has the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York’s approval to reject 12 airport leases and 19 ground handling agreements.

The company also rejected leases on 27 aircraft from lessor AerCap AER.N. AerCap will pay Spirit $150 million as part of the deal, which resolves their dispute over a deal covering 36 Airbus AIR.PA planes due for delivery between 2027 and 2028.

(Reporting by Sabrina Valle and Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Additional reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago; Editing by Leslie Adler and Rosalba O’Brien)