Court Lets Spirit Reject 67 Jet Leases as Carrier Weighs Merger or Sale

Overview

• U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval allows Spirit to immediately shed leases on 67 Airbus jets, a pivotal step in its restructuring.
• The rejected aircraft span A320neo, A321neo and A320ceo models, significantly shrinking the all-Airbus fleet.
• Spirit disclosed in an SEC filing that it is actively in talks with multiple potential counterparties about a merger or sale, with no suitors named.
• The restructuring includes deep route reductions, furloughs of pilots and flight attendants, planned staff cuts, and the closure of maintenance and warehouse operations in Baltimore and Chicago.
• Spirit’s plan targets hundreds of millions of dollars in annual savings and a right-sized fleet focused on A320/A321 ceo aircraft as it exits neo models affected by Pratt & Whitney engine issues.