The United States-based ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines (S64) (SAVE) finalized an order for 100 Airbus A320neo family aircraft, the Toulouse-based plane maker confirmed on January 6, 2019. The order could be worth as much as $10 billion (at list prices).
In particular, Spirit Airlines’ (S64) (SAVE) aircraft purchase includes a mix of Airbus A319neo, A320neo, and A321neo aircraft, to be delivered by 2027. The deal was first announced as a memorandum of understanding in October 2019, and included an option for 50 more airplanes.
At the time, it became the first (preliminary) order that Airbus received since the United States had applied a 10% tariff on European aircraft. On the same day, Spirit Airlines (S64) (SAVE) published its third-quarter 2019 financial results, reporting $992.0 million of total operating revenue, an increase of 9.7 percent compared to the third quarter 2018, driven by a 17.7% increase in flight volume.
Spirit Airlines (S64) (SAVE) is an all-Airbus operator. Its current fleet stands at 145 aircraft and is composed of 31 A319s, 64 A320s, 20 A320neos, and 30 A321s, an average of 5.6 years. In 2016, the airline became the first U.S. operator to take delivery of an A320neo.