Spirit Airlines announced plans to sell 23 of its Airbus aircraft to aviation services company GA Telesis for $519 million, in a strategic move aimed at maintaining solvency. The deal involves a mix of A320s and A321s, which GA Telesis, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, intends to either lease or resell.
The budget airline expects to close 2024 with $1 billion in liquidity, down from $1.3 billion at the end of 2023, indicating tightening financial constraints. In its latest regulatory filing on October 24, Spirit disclosed that its capacity for the fourth quarter will be 20% lower than the same period last year, marking a notable operational reduction. In contrast, Spirit’s third-quarter capacity declined only 1.2% year-over-year, highlighting the airline’s accelerated pullback in response to financial pressures.
Spirit’s deepening losses over recent years have raised concerns regarding a potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Spirit and Frontier Airlines have renewed merger discussions, with an acquisition likely to coincide with a Chapter 11 restructuring.
