US-based carrier Spirit Airlines (S64) (SAVE) announced a bleak revision of its third quarter earnings following massive disruptions from flight cancellations and delays.
In a statement on August 16, 2021, the Miami-based low-cost carrier announced that it had canceled up to 2,826 flights between July 30 and August 9, 2021, over 50% of the airline’s schedule.
The airline revealed that the disruptions would result in a $50 million hit to its earnings for the third quarter of 2021.
“We believe the interruption was a singular event driven by an unprecedented confluence of factors and does not reflect systemic issues,” commented CEO Ted Christie.
Christie went on to affirm that efforts were being taken to “maintain” the airline’s standard on the back of “overlapping challenges” pertaining to staff shortages, bad weather, and crew displacements.
The carrier revised its previous forecast of profitable earnings for the final two quarters of the year and now estimates that it will post a loss by September 30, 2021, the end of the third quarter.
Spirit forecasts its operating revenues fall between $885 million to $955 million for Q3 2021, and its operating expenses to range between $1.03 – $1.04 billion, an almost 20% hike in comparison to its Q3 figures for 2019