Spirit Airlines and Airbus have agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in which Spirit will acquire up to 100 A320neo family aircraft.
Spirit announced its intention to place firm orders for a mix of A319neo, A320neo, and A321neo to meet its future fleet requirements.
Spirit Airlines’ president and CEO Ted Christie said: “This new order represents another milestone for Spirit.
“The additional aircraft will be used to support Spirit’s growth as we add new destinations and expand our network across the US, Latin America, and the Caribbean. We look forward to working with our valued partners at Airbus to finalise our agreement.”
Spirit also released his third-quarter results which show its total operating revenue was $992 million, an increase of 9.7% compared to the third quarter 2018, driven by a 17.7% increase in flight volume.
Total operating revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) for the third quarter 2019 decreased 1.7% compared to the same period last year, driven by a lower load factor, softer passenger yields and the negative impact from Hurricane Dorian.
Adjusted operating expenses for the third quarter of 2019 increased 13.1% year over year to $858.2 million. In addition to increased flight volume, these changes were primarily driven by salaries, wages and benefits.
Aircraft fuel expense decreased in the third quarter of 2019 by 1.9% year-over-year, due to an 11.9% decrease in fuel rates, largely offset by an 11.5% increase in fuel gallons consumed.