Spirit To Furlough Pilots, Defer Aircraft Deliveries Due To Cash Crunch

Spirit Airlines announced today that, to save cash, it will furlough 260 pilots and postpone Airbus aircraft deliveries scheduled from the second quarter of next year through 2026. The aircraft deliveries are scheduled to be deferred until 2030-2031. Deliveries scheduled from 2027 to 2029 are not affected. The pilot furloughs are scheduled to start Sept. 1.

Spirit, which operates an all-Airbus fleet, said the delivery pause is partly due to quality issues related to the aircraft’s Pratt & Whitney engines. The two measures are said to improve Spirit’s liquidity by some $340 million, according to reporting by Reuters. Spirit operated a total of 206 aircraft, as of December last year. The airline has been losing money for several consecutive quarters, according to Reuters, despite the overall rebound in travel following the COVID pandemic.

Ryan Muller, chair of the Spirit Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), called the upcoming furloughs “deeply troubling for our entire pilot group.” According to Muller, the negotiating committee and the council are looking at possible voluntary measures to limit the number of furloughs and downgrades as well as exploring measures that could cut into the necessity of the furloughs.