Spirit Airlines has reduced destinations and furloughed flight attendants, many in South Florida. Now it’s cutting the number of airplanes it flies in its ongoing quest to survive.

The Florida-based carrier wants to void lease agreements for 87 airplanes, Spirit said in a request last week with a federal bankruptcy court in New York. The court needs to approve this as it does other parts of the company’s restructuring plan.

The move is another way the airline seeks to reduce its financial burden.

“A significant reduction in Spirit’s fleet size and related expenses is required to improve Spirit’s financial position and flexibility,” Fred Cromer, executive vice president and chief officer of Spirit Aviation Holdings, wrote in the Oct. 2 court filing.

On Aug. 29, Spirit filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than 12 months.

Since then, the carrier has said it “intends to use the tools of chapter 11 to realize hundreds of millions of dollars in annual savings and lighten its balance sheet by shedding billions of dollars of liabilities.”

That appears to mean fewer destinations, flights and airplanes.

“Spirit is committed to redesigning its network to focus its flying on key markets,” Cromer wrote in the Oct. 2 filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York, the court overseeing the airline’s restructuring.

On Sept. 30, Spirit said it would end the lease for 27 airplanes from its largest lessor, AerCap. That was part of a restructuring contract that included new aircraft leases and an equity injection of $150 million from AerCap.

Including that, for now Spirit will operate about 100 planes, less than half of the 214 it had in August 2025.

Fewer planes, fewer markets

The move comes as the carrier is already cutting destinations. In September, Spirit CEO Dave Davis wrote in an email that the company expects to slash flights in November. “You will see a reduction of about 25% in capacity, year over year, as we optimize our network to focus on our strongest markets,” he said.

Two weeks earlier, Spirit said it would stop service to 12 U.S. cities, including fourwith direct service to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The four were Birmingham, Alabama; Columbia, South Carolina; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Macon, Georgia.

Spirit, which provided FLL more passengers in 2024 than any other airline did, is an important airline there, and to the region.

FLL and MIA crews affected

The fleet downsizing also comes one week after Spirit said it would furlough approximately 1,800 flight attendants in two phases by year-end.

The union that represents Spirit’s flight attendants, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO, said in a statement that the voluntary furloughs will be offered for six months or one-year time periods, effective Nov. 1. Those eligible to bid for the voluntary furlough can bid for one of those options or both, with a preference of time period.

Based on how the first phase goes, the involuntary furlough will take place starting Dec. 1.

About 40% of the 1,800 employees affected are based in Florida. That’s according to publicly available letters sent by Spirit to Florida officials, required as part of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, a federal law known as WARN. According to those letters, 309 flights attendants based at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, 71 at Miami International Airport and 300 at Orlando International Airport are affected.

WARN requires companies with more than 100 employees to give public notice ahead of mass layoffs or closure of employment sites.

Additionally, 70 ramp service agents, represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers at FLL will be furloughed.

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