The Final Spirit Airlines Aircraft To Depart Las Vegas

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According to flight data, the final flight operated on Friday, and departed from Las Vegas at 9:59 AM for the nearly one-hour (53 minutes to be exact) final flight to Marana, Pinal Airpark. The aircraft touched down at MZJ at 10:52 AM. Sending these aircraft to storage in desert conditions, such as Pinal Airpark, helps maintain the airliners from rust or corrosion due to the dry conditions.

Pinal remains one of the world’s largest commercial aircraft storage facilities and has an extensive heavy maintenance and overhaul facility. Spirit’s lessors have sent dozens of its aircraft to such facilities until they are rehomed.

As the aircraft departed from Las Vegas, the pilot took the initiative to do a wing wave, which is a tradition where the aircraft tilts from side to side, a signal of sign-off or a salute. This is a way for the plane to say ‘goodbye’ as it retired from one of its bases, or to simply please a crowd.

Aircraft History: N652NK

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The aircraft (as pictured) was the final Spirit aircraft to leave Las Vegas, and bears registration N652NK. Data from ch-aviation identifies the plane as being 8.5 years of age and was delivered to Spirit in December 2017. Painted in the airline’s iconic bright yellow livery, it had a configuration to carry a total of 182 passengers across two classes.

The plane featured the airline’s first class style seat, called Big Front Seat, catering for eight passengers in this class. In addition to 174 passengers in the airline’s standard economy class. For those who were lucky enough to travel in Big Front, they enjoyed a 2×2 configuration, 36 inches of seat pitch, and an extra-thick seat cushion.

Booking of Big Front Seat was easy, and could be done so when choosing the highest-tier ticket bundle, known as Go Big. The fare type included priority check-in, security and boarding, two checked bags, and free WiFi, snacks, and drinks.

Spirit Airlines Demise

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Spirit had been facing financial headwinds for many years, spurred on by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The airline eventually collapsed on May 2, 2026, after failing to secure last-minute investors. Having already faced multiple bankruptcy proceedings, this saw the budget carrier permanently ground its fleet and leave thousands of employees without jobs.

In the final months, the airline faced rising fuel costs from the Iran crisis and needed hundreds of millions of dollars in extra liquidity. The airline was unable to sustain these conditions, and a failed rescue deal from the U.S government fell through, meaning that the airline needed to pursue an orderly wind-down.

Customers who had future reservations and had paid directly to the airline with a credit or debit card are receiving refunds; those with vouchers or points are being handled through ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. At the time of the airline ceasing operations, it had a fleet of around 130 aircraft, all of which were the Airbus A320 family (A320-200, A320neo, A321-200, and A321neo).

For N652NK, its pilot’s actions as it took off for the last time as Spirit at Las Vegas, were a wonderful tribute to a city that the airline had served so loyally as a base since it established one at the airport in 2012.