A Spirit Airlines aircraft undergoes operations in preparation for departure at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on February 12, 2024 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Spirit Airlines said Monday it will delay deliveries of new Airbus planes and lay off about 260 pilots in an effort to boost liquidity.
“Of course, these steps are not the steps we want to take, but they are necessary to ensure a strong and profitable future for Spirit,” CEO Ted Christie said in a letter to employees on Monday.
Spirit said it will delay all Airbus aircraft it has on order that were scheduled for delivery from the second quarter of 2025 to the end of 2026. Instead, it will take delivery of the planes in 2030 and 2031. lease aircraft – one each in the second and third quarters of next year – nor planned deliveries for 2027 through 2029, Spirit said.
The budget carrier said the delay would increase its liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years.
“Delaying these aircraft gives us the opportunity to reset operations and focus on the core airline while we adapt to changes in the competitive environment,” Christie said in a news release.
Miramar, Florida-based Spirit has been looking for ways to boost liquidity and convince investors it is on track to do so as it struggles with the grounding of many of its Airbus planes due to An Pratt & Whitney engine recall. The planned takeover JetBlue Airways fell apart earlier this year after a federal judge ruled in January that the deal would be anticompetitive.
The airline said on March 29 that it will receive monthly payments through the end of 2024 to compensate for the grounded Pratt & Whitney engines, which would increase liquidity to between $150 million and $200 million.
The trial furlough would come into effect in September, Spirit said on Monday. The airline already had furloughs for flight attendants and there is “no plan” for furloughs for cabin crew, their union, the Association of Flight Attendants, told members on Monday. Spirit is closing its crew base in Atlantic City, New Jersey and reassigning personnel.
Other airlines have adjusted their hiring and training in recent weeks, citing aircraft shortages — a sharp change from pilot shortages that worsened as travel demand slumped after the worst of the pandemic. United Airlines The pilots' union said late last month that the company will offer pilots unpaid leave next month due to late-arriving planes Boeing.
The Air Line Pilots Association, Spirit's pilot union, did not immediately comment on the furloughs.