Spirit Expects to Ground Nearly 20 Percent of Its Fleet

The ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) said it is expecting to ground up to 40 aircraft this year due to ongoing engine issues.

Ryan Ewing

Thursday, May 09, 2024 at 01:54 PM ET

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A Spirit A320neo [Courtesy: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson]

Key Takeaways:

Spirit Airlines expects to finish 2024 with 40 Airbus A320neo series aircraft, nearly 20% of its fleet, grounded due to ongoing Pratt & Whitney GTF engine issues.
The engine problems are severely impacting Spirit's operations, leading to flat or slightly increased capacity growth, deferred aircraft deliveries, and the furlough of 260 pilots.
Spirit is receiving compensation from Pratt & Whitney for the grounded aircraft, having received nearly $31 million in AOG credits during the first quarter.

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As the airline continues to grapple with ongoing Pratt & Whitney GTF engine issues, Spirit said it expects to finish 2024 with 40 Airbus A320neo series aircraft grounded. This figure represents nearly 20 percent of the airline’s entire fleet.

“Looking further out, the GTF engine availability issues and the phasing of AOG [aircraft on ground] aircraft being taken out of service, together with limited visibility on when these aircraft will be returned to service, makes it difficult to accurately predict the number of assets we will have to produce capacity,” said Spirit chief commercial officer Matt Klein during an earnings call earlier this week. “For the full year 2024, we estimate we will have an average of about 25 [AOG], finishing the year with about 40 AOG.”