Spirit Airlines luggage tags are seen at a check-in counter at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on April 10, 2024 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Spirit Airlines Shares rose more than 20% after the struggling budget airline said it would cut jobs and sell planes.
The airline late Thursday presented a plan to cut costs and raise money by selling 23 older Airbus planes. That sale will raise $519 million, Spirit said in a securities filing.
It also said it will reduce costs by about $80 million, mainly through job cuts.
Last week, the airline again postponed a deadline to refinance more than $1 billion in debt until the end of December, creating breathing room for the credit card processor.
Spirit has struggled to return to profitability in the wake of the pandemic, facing a shift in travel demand and the grounding of dozens of businesses. Pratt & Whitney powered aircraft.
Even with Friday's jump, Spirit's shares are down more than 80% this year after a judge blocked the planned takeover by JetBlue Airways.
Spirit Airlines jetliners on the tarmac at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Joe Cavaretta | South Florida Sun Sentinel | Getty Images
Spirit did not immediately comment on the number of employees it will cut, but said capacity will be down by about 10 percentage points by 2025 compared to this year. It started in September with the furlough of about 200 pilots. The company said flight attendants are “well positioned” because so many crew members have taken voluntary leave.
Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Spirit and Border airlines have revived merger talks, sending shares higher. The airlines did not immediately comment. The two budget airlines had a merger deal that went off the rails JetBlue's April 2022 offer to purchase Spirit outright.
Late Thursday, Spirit forecast a negative operating margin of 24.5% for the third quarter, better than a previous estimate for as much as a negative 29% margin for the three-month period.