Spirit Airlines plans to furlough around 330 pilots to reduce expenses and improve its financial situation.
Furloughs will start on January 31, 2025, a company spokesperson told Reuters on October 31, 2024. The spokesperson also mentioned that 120 captains will be moved down to first officers on that same date. Spirit aims to save $80 million in 2025, mainly by reducing its staff.
The airline is making this change because it is still losing money despite high travel demand. It reported a net loss of $158 million in the second quarter, mainly due to low revenue. More losses are anticipated in the upcoming third-quarter earnings report for 2024, which has not been published yet.
In October 2024, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines, both low-cost carriers, were reported to have re-entered merger discussions in order to compete against the four major US airlines: United, American, Delta and Southwest.
Additionally, Spirit began talks with its bondholders about a possible bankruptcy filing, and it is believed that any merger with Frontier would form part of finding a resolution.
The recent announcement is part of the ongoing furlough plans. In April 2024, the airline stated that 260 pilots would be furloughed starting September 1, 2024. According to Reuters, Spirit furloughed 186 pilots in In September 2024.
The airline also mentioned that it had made a deal with Airbus to postpone all aircraft deliveries originally set for the second quarter of 2025 until 2030-2031.