Spirit Airlines has reported adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter 2021 of $14.9 million. The Company had an unusual number of operational disruptions and flight cancellations during the peak December 2021 holiday period, due to staffing shortages as a result of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. The irregular operations during the peak December 2021 holiday period negatively impacted fourth quarter 2021 Adjusted EBITDA by approximately $30 million. Total operating revenues for the fourth quarter 2021 came in better than expected at $987.6 million, an increase of 1.8 percent versus fourth quarter 2019. The irregular operations over the peak December 2021 holiday period negatively impacted total operating revenues by approximately $7 million.
Load factor for the fourth quarter 2021 was 79.8% on a 9.5 percent capacity increase versus fourth quarter 2019.
Spirit ended the year 2021 with $1.7 billion of unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, short-term investment securities and liquidity available under the Company's revolving credit facility.
"Our fourth quarter 2021 results came in better-than-expected, despite the negative impact from Omicron-related flight disruptions, primarily due to very strong demand over the peak December holiday period. I want to thank the entire Spirit team for their professionalism and commitment to providing excellent service to our Guests," said Ted Christie, Spirit's President and Chief Executive Officer.
"Looking ahead to the first quarter 2022, we have seen sequential improvement in bookings since mid-January and early trends indicate travel demand in the second half of the first quarter should be quite strong. Also, today we announced that Spirit and Frontier have signed a definitive merger agreement under which we plan to combine to bring more ultra-low fares to more travelers in more destinations across the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. We are excited about this combination and believe it will have tremendous benefits for consumers, Team Members, and shareholders."
"Our Adjusted EBITDA margin for the fourth quarter 2021 was 1.5 percent, 400 basis points better than the mid-point of our guide on higher revenue and lower costs," said Scott Haralson, Spirit's Chief Financial Officer. "Over the next year we will leverage opportunities to restore and optimize our network and we will continue to push the horizon on non-ticket production. We will also remain keenly focused on managing costs and finding efficiencies to offset inflationary cost headwinds we face."
Spirit took delivery of five new A320neo aircraft during the fourth quarter 2021. The Company ended the year with 173 aircraft in its fleet.
Total capital expenditures for the twelve months ended December 31, 2021 were $333.1 million, primarily related to pre-delivery deposits associated with future aircraft deliveries and the purchase of four aircraft and two engines off lease, and two spare engines purchased with cash. In addition, one of the three aircraft delivered under sale-leaseback transactions during the fourth quarter 2021 did not qualify to be accounted for as a sale-leaseback; therefore, it is being accounted for as an aircraft financed through fixed-rate long-term debt.
Spirit improved its liquidity and financial position through the public offering of $500.0 million in 1.00% convertible notes due 2026, the issuance of 10,594,073 shares of the company's voting common stock for which it received net proceeds of $370.8 million, the extinguishment of $146.8 million 4.75% convertible notes due 2025 and the extinguishment of $340.0 million 8.00% senior secured notes. Additionally, Spirit repaid all outstanding indebtedness under its Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility (the "Revolver") due March 2024. As of December 31, 2021, the company had no outstanding indebtedness under its Revolver which has a total of $240 million in available capacity.