US discount carrier Spirit Airlines confirms it plans to slash another 270 pilots as part of a plan to shrink its operation and return to profitability.
“We are taking necessary steps to ensure we operate as efficiently as possible as part of our efforts to return to profitability. Among these steps, we have made the difficult decision to furlough approximately 270 pilots”, the Florida-based airline says.
The staff cuts will take effect on 1 November and help the airline “better align staffing with our flight schedule”, Spirit says. ”We recognise the weight of this decision and are committed to treating all affected team members with compassion and respect during this process.”
Additionally, Spirit says it will downgrade roughly 140 captains to first officers, effective 1 October.
The moves are the latest of several recent workforce reductions by Spirit, which ended last year with 3,020 pilots on its rolls.
In the first quarter of this year, the airline furloughed 200 pilots and eliminated another 200 positions from various departments, and in 2024 Spirit cut 2,192 employees, securities filings show.
The company emerged from bankruptcy proceedings in March and lost $289 million in the first quarter of the year, compared to a $207 million loss in the same period of 2024.
Several US low-cost airlines have been struggling financially in the last year due to an oversupply of discount airline seats, executives say.
Spirit and ultra-low-cost competitor Frontier Airlines are seen as contributing to that problem by in recent years acquiring more Airbus A321s, the largest variant of that aircraft family and a type that Spirit and Frontier pack with roughly 230 seats.
