Spirit Airlines will slash its schedule by a quarter in November as the discounter makes tough bankruptcy decisions.
Dave Davis, CEO of Spirit, told staff members Wednesday in a memo viewed by TPG that the airline would be 25% smaller in terms of available seat miles, a standard industry measure of capacity, in November compared to the same month last year.
The cuts, he wrote, would involve “significant adjustments, coupled with ongoing cost-savings efforts amid the restructuring.”
FAQ: Spirit Airlines’ bankruptcy and how it might affect your travel
Spirit filed for its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring in less than a year in August, promising significant changes to its route map, fleet and costs. The carrier exited its last bankruptcy in March.
The budget airline earlier in September confirmed that it would end flights to 11 destinations, plus one future city, in October. The cuts overwhelmingly hit Spirit’s flying in the Western U.S., where eight airports, including Portland International Airport (PDX) in Oregon and San Diego International Airport (SAN) in California, will lose service.
Davis did not say in his memo whether the November schedule would cut more cities from Spirit’s map. However, schedules from aviation analytics firm Cirium show the airline’s November capacity currently down only 14% year over year — suggesting significant additional reductions are necessary to achieve a 25% cut.
Spirit executives have indicated that the airline will retrench and focus on core airports as part of its bankruptcy. These include Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Orlando International Airport (MCO).
Davis warned staff members in his memo that the airline must cut costs — including with its labor groups — as it shrinks.
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“These evaluations will inevitably affect the size of our teams as we become a more efficient airline,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, these are the tough calls we must make to emerge stronger.”
Spirit has told leaders of its pilots union, the Air Line Pilots Association, that it is seeking roughly $100 million in annual savings from pilots, according to reports.
Read more: Spirit Airlines axes 11 cities from route map as bankruptcy cuts begin
A spokesperson for the Spirit chapter of ALPA did not respond to a request for comment.
Spirit has already said it will furlough 270 pilots and downgraded another 140 captains to first officers as of Oct. 1 and Nov. 1. It furloughed 200 more pilots in 2024.
Many in the aviation industry question whether Spirit can survive this restructuring. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, speaking at an event in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 9, said he doubts Spirit will emerge from bankruptcy.
Other industry leaders have been more demure in their forecasts, even as their airlines stand to gain from a Spirit liquidation.
“It’s always hard to see another carrier struggle,” Joanna Geraghty, CEO of JetBlue Airways, said at the same Washington event as Kirby. JetBlue competes with Spirit at FLL and MCO, both of which it considers focus cities.
JetBlue and Spirit attempted to merge in 2022 only to have the deal blocked by the U.S. Department of Justice on competitive grounds. The airlines officially ended the proposed combination in March 2024.
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