AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File
- Spirit Airlines will furlough 1,800 flight attendants as it battles a second bankruptcy this year.
- The airline announced furloughs starting November 1, with involuntary cuts set to begin December 1.
- Spirit’s August bankruptcy filing was its second in 12 months, raising doubts it can survive at all.
Spirit Airlines said it will furlough about one-third of its flight attendants as the budget carrier struggles to survive its second bankruptcy in less than a year.
About 1,800 of Spirit’s roughly 5,200 flight attendants will be affected, with involuntary furloughs set to take effect on December 1.
“As part of our ongoing restructuring, we are taking steps to align staffing with our fleet size and expected flight volume,” the airline said in a statement to Business Insider.
“We recognize the impact of this decision on affected Team Members, and we are committed to treating them with care and respect during this process,” it added.
Spirit is also pressing pilots for $100 million in pay cuts
The cost-cutting extends beyond cabin staff.
In September, COO John Bendoraitis told Spirit’s 3,000 pilots that the airline must save $100 million a year from its collective bargaining agreement.
Pilots earn between about $84,000 and $270,000, depending on seniority, and the company proposed daily talks with their union to hammer out concessions.
If no deal is reached by October 1, Spirit had warned it could ask the bankruptcy court to change or reject the contract outright, under a section of Chapter 11 bankruptcy law.
CEO Dave Davis told employees last week that Spirit would cut about 25% of its flight capacity year over year in November as it “optimizes our network to focus on our strongest markets.”
“Unfortunately, these are the tough calls we must make to emerge stronger,” he said in the internal message.
Spirit had already announced in July plans to furlough 270 pilots and demote 140 captains to first officers.
The Florida-based airline filed for Chapter 11 protection in August — its second bankruptcy in less than a year after emerging from a prior restructuring in March.
Earlier in August, the carrier warned investors that it had “substantial doubt” about its “ability to continue as a going concern within 12 months” after reporting a net loss of about $246 million in the second quarter.
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