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Spirit Airlines is recalling almost a third of its furloughed flight attendants as it gets the green light for the sale of 20 of its Airbus fleet. In December, the carrier placed around 1,800 flight attendants on furlough, with the majority of these being involuntary after around 500 staff volunteered to be placed on furlough.
However, the airline has faced multiple operational crises since then, exacerbated by insufficient staffing, leading to this week’s U-turn. The airline is in the midst of its second bankruptcy stint in as many years, with its latest aircraft sales expected to improve its financial position.
Spirit Recalls 500 Furloughed Flight Attendants
As the airline revealed on Thursday, it will be calling back a sizable chunk of its furloughed flight attendant workforce. Recall notices were sent out this week and give flight attendants a period of 15 days to return to work, although the airline is encouraging them to return even sooner, if possible. The return order will be based on seniority, with the most senior flight attendants given priority.
The recall decision is being made amid serious operational turmoil, with Spirit forced to cancel up to 60 flights a day in recent weeks, primarily due to flight attendant shortages. It has even resorted to emergency staffing measures in the face of skyrocketing sick rates, but recently admitted its reserve of flight attendants had been “fully depleted.” The airline announced back in September that it would be furloughing up to 1,800 flight attendants ahead of the winter season, with voluntary furloughs beginning in November before involuntary furloughs were enforced the following month.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA commented,
“This is good news for 500 Flight Attendants and their families and critical to those of us on the line that have faced a grueling operation over the last two months. The company’s goal in recalling Flight Attendants is to ease some of the operational issues since the furloughs.”
Sale Of 20 Aircraft Agreed
In its efforts to improve its financial situation, Spirit has reached a deal over the sale of 20 aircraft from its fleet, continuing its mass sell-off to raise funds. With a fleet of over 120 aircraft, this would ordinarily have a significant impact on a carrier’s operations. However, Spirit claims the sale will have minimal disruption to its operations, as most of the 20 aircraft being sold are not currently in service. Data from ch-aviation shows there are around 15 aircraft in Spirit’s fleet listed as parked, split between its A320ceo and A321ceo fleet.
|
Spirit Aircraft Sale |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Aircraft Type |
Variant |
Quantity |
|
Airbus A320 |
A320-200 |
13 |
|
Airbus A321 |
A321-200 |
7 |
|
Total |
— |
20 |
Spirit says these planes have not been in revenue service for a while, as they were marked for sale. It adds that the sales will gradually go through starting from April 2026, provided the deal is approved by a bankruptcy court. According to court filings, the agreement involves 13 A320-200s and seven A321-200s, with the first bidder noted as CSDS Asset Management in an overall deal worth around $530 million.
Spirit has embarked on a huge fleet restructuring drive since its first bankruptcy stint in 2024. Along with aircraft sales, it has rejected a huge number of aircraft leases in its efforts to streamline its fleet and finances. The carrier will now own fewer than 30 aircraft, and plans to maintain another 66 leased jets as part of its operational fleet.
Spirit Airlines Backtracks On Plan To Furlough Up To 365 Pilots Next Quarter
The airline is also drastically reducing the number of captains to get downgraded.
An End In Sight For Spirit?
With its second stint of bankruptcy now approaching one year, Spirit’s position remains as precarious as ever. Last month, Simple Flying reported on negotiations between Spirit and investment firm Castlelake over a possible takeover, but little progress has been made, and the deal would likely see Spirit’s assets broken up and used for spare parts.
The carrier had planned to furlough hundreds of its pilots this year, but backtracked after realizing it had already lost many pilots to rival airlines. With its U-turn on furloughed flight attendants and progress in aircraft sales, Spirit’s financial position will certainly improve, but this does not mean its underlying problems have been fixed.
