Spirit Airlines is seeking bankruptcy court approval to auction off 20 aircraft as part of its ongoing Chapter 11 restructuring, a move that would further shrink its fleet and reshape its network.
The ultra-low-cost carrier plans to sell 13 Airbus A320 aircraft and seven Airbus A321 jets. If approved, the sale would reduce Spirit’s fleet to 94 Airbus aircraft, down significantly from the 214 planes it operated before entering bankruptcy protection in August. The proposed auction date is April 20.
Spirit has reached a preliminary agreement with Arizona-based CSDS Asset Management to set a minimum purchase price of $533.5 million for the 20 aircraft. Any winning bidder would need to exceed that figure. Analysts say the plan represents an acceleration of Spirit’s downsizing strategy. Earlier filings had indicated a target fleet size of 114 aircraft, but the latest proposal goes further.
In court documents, Spirit CFO Fred Cromer said the airline is reorienting its network to focus on key cities while exiting less profitable markets. The goal, he noted, is to better align capacity with demand, lower debt and lease obligations and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual operating savings.
According to Cirium data, Spirit is currently serving 13 fewer destinations than it did a year ago, with overall capacity down nearly 24%. The restructuring highlights the continued pressure on discount carriers as they attempt to stabilize operations in a competitive and cost-sensitive environment.
