By Sabrina Valle NEW YORK (Reuters) -Spirit Airlines plans to shrink its fleet by nearly 100 aircraft and exit more than a dozen U.S. markets as part of a sweeping bankruptcy restructuring process, CFO Fred Cromer said on Friday during a virtual meeting with creditors. Spirit Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a prolonged period of financial strain. The low-cost carrier, which Cromer said currently operates 214 aircraft, is using bankruptcy tools to eliminate unprofitable routes and reduce its network footprint. The strategy is expected to save the company “hundreds of millions of dollars” in costs, Cromer said, allowing it to "support a much smaller and stronger Spirit Airlines." Spirit said in a statement that it filed a motion with the court on Thursday to reject 87 additional aircraft leases. "The motion is subject to court approval, and we continue to engage with key stakeholders, including our lessors, as part of our ongoing restructuring to position Spirit for the future." Industry overcapacity among low-cost carriers combined with low passenger demand, significant downward pressure in pricing, and an influx of low-fare seats at legacy airlines led the company to bankruptcy, Cromer said. "While the industry was hopeful at the beginning of 2025 that there would be a rebound, it didn't happen," he said. "That obviously led to the situation that we're in today." He did not specify a deadline for the fleet reduction. “Today, we have 214 airplanes,” Cromer said. “We’re talking order of magnitude, reducing that by almost 100 aircraft.” In recent weeks, Spirit has announced plans to exit service at more than a dozen U.S. airports, including Hartford, Connecticut, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, and suspended roughly 40 routes as part of its restructuring plan. It is not clear how many of those cuts have already been made. The company also rejected leases on 27 aircraft from lessor AerCap and terminated 12 airport leases and 19 ground handling agreements. AerCap will pay Spirit $150 million as part of the deal, which resolves their dispute over a deal covering 36 Airbus planes due for delivery between 2027 and 2028. (Reporting by Sabrina Valle in New York; additional reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York and Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Leslie Adler)
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