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.
Well, I guess the pendulum never stops swinging…
For Spirit to be losing money in consecutive quarters at this time means their offering is not what the traveling public want. How are the other low-cost carriers faring?
You would think that the recent Boeing troubles and passengers that consciously select flights with Airbus planes would help companies like Spirit.
I think there just aren’t many of those passengers. 90% of people only look at one thing when booking a flight: price.
I fly fairly regularly for work and due to a relocation, find myself dependent of Spirit to reach some destinations I need to travel to. They are definitely among my least liked Airlines, but the flights I’ve taken were pretty full. I think the problem is they are bottom feeders and most passengers are buying uber-cheap tickets that don’t cover the cost of the flight with only a few opting for the higher priced tickets and perks that come with them. When it comes to Airlines it seems you can’t sell at a loss and make it up on volume. Re: the Boeing vs. Airbus discussion I can say Spirits version very much lives up to the Air-BUS name. Not a fancy Greyhound, a City Bus….on the bad side of town.
“ buying uber-cheap tickets that don’t cover the cost of the flight with only a few opting for the higher priced tickets and perks that come with them. When it comes to Airlines it seems you can’t sell at a loss and make it up on volume.”
Absolutely right. Up north, the land of abusive govt fees and taxes, we’ve seen LCCs come and go. According to the mainstream press, Flair won’t make it to Christmas. I find the comment below regarding debt very interesting… is Spirit shaping the story to go into Chapter 11 to wipe out much of that debt?
Is it “TCAS, I have Control” or “what the heck are those mountain goats doing up here in the clouds?” for Spirit?
Spirit’s issues include a 5B debt due in 2025 that has to be re-structured under higher terms. The Pratt GTF engine problem requires a 400 day turn around. They grew just enough to be an itch for the Legacy airlines to scratch by selling buckets of seats at ULCC prices. Assets are not enough for any meaningful financial leverage.
Customer experience is too largely provided by outsourced contract labor with no vested interest in Spirit. Limited ancillary revenues from credit cards and lack of any premium services to sell. Reputation. I’ll “never fly Spirit, JetBlue, Frontier, Delta, American, SWA, Alaska, et. al ” said every customer that got delayed or bumped from any flight ever.
I like to hope their is a market for bare bones low priced seats where the customer knows up front what they’re purchasing and the carrier can provide it. If nothing else Spirit is tenacious. Frontier must be licking their chops at the airframes and crews again. Lastly, for the love of the all so infrequent common sense, Let Experienced Pilots Fly!
Those 260 (junior?) pilots will quickly find jobs at other, better, airlines replete with 320 rating & time on type.
@ J Gary, I’m hoping that’s exactly what happens and none of them have to return to Spirit
Tic Toc, Tic Toc. Popcorn please.
So fortunate the federal judge blocked Spirit’s merger with JetBlue, which would have kept the planes and pilots working, and under better management.
“Spirit is a small airline, but there are 520 who love it. To those dedicated 520 of Spirit, this one’s for you.”
-Judge Young