Spirit Airlines is looking to reject up to 87 leased aircraft, the company revealed in a bankruptcy court document last week (October 2).
The airline's chief financial officer Fred Cromer wrote to the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York requesting the leases to be terminated.
“[The rejected leases] will relieve Spirit of the burden of unprofitable leases and of the costs of maintaining and storing several aircraft that are already out of service,” said Cromer.
Spirit said the decision came after “thoroughly analysing” its restructuring plans. The airline is restructuring its network to focus on key cities and reduce its presence in other cities.
“To do so, Spirit must right-size its fleet to match capacity with profitable demand, which will materially lower Spirit's debt and lease obligations and realise hundreds of millions of dollars in annual operating savings,” Cromer added.
The request to reject 87 leases follows the airline's agreement with its largest lessor, AerCap, to reject 27 leased aircraft. According to a TD Cowen analyst report published on September 25, Spirit has 37 aircraft leased from AerCap, with 25 active and 12 in storage.
Spirit's sale and leaseback agreements with AerCap for 36 undelivered Airbus A320neo family aircraft, which were scheduled to be delivered between 2027 and 2028, have been terminated. The lessor will retain full rights to the aircraft, allowing them to be re-leased at potentially higher rates.
“Spirit entered into the leases and related agreements in a different economic climate than the one facing Spirit's industry today and such excess equipment is not necessary for Spirit's revised business plan,” said Cromer.
As it continues to evaluate its fleet, Spirit said it may look to retire additional aircraft in the future.
Spirit operates an all-Airbus fleet, primarily consisting of the A320 family jet. Out of 214 of the airline’s operating fleet, 166 are leased aircraft.
Additionally, AerCap will inject Spirit with a $150 million liquidity infusion to allow the airline to continue operations while implementing its business plan.
Spirit has also secured a multi-tranche debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing facility of up to $475 million, the airline said on September 30, 2025.
The financing was secured from its existing bondholders. Spirit said this will provide the airline with “additional financial flexibility to support normal business operations during its restructuring”.
The DIP financing still requires court approval, with a hearing set for October 10. Upon approval, $200 million is expected to be immediately available. In the interim, Spirit was approved to gain immediate access to $120 million of liquidity.
Spirit decided to furlough 1,800 flight attendants, which is around a third of its workforce, and cut its November schedule capacity by a quarter.
Spirit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late August 2025 — only a few months after it emerged from restructuring in March the same year.
The airline had struggled to contend with liquidity pressures and with its premium rebrand, which was unable to capture demand during a period of economic uncertainty.