Spirit Airlines tells pilots it wants to cut their pay and shave $100 million from their union deal

• A Spirit exec told its pilots’ union it needs to save $100 million a year on their contract.
• If a deal isn’t reached by October, Spirit could ask a bankruptcy court to reject the union contract.
• Spirit pilots’ salaries range between $84,000 and upward of $270,000 based on current terms.

Spirit Airlines bosses want to cut pilots’ union-negotiated pay as it seeks to recover from its second bankruptcy filing in under a year.

The airline needs to save $100 million a year on its collective bargaining agreement with pilots, Chief Operating Officer John Bendoraitis told the pilots’ union in a Tuesday letter shared with Business Insider.

He said Spirit “must achieve significant cost savings” to “secure the company’s future.”

“Given the challenges we face, time is of the essence,” he added.

The letter proposed daily meetings with the Air Line Pilots Association, or ALPA, starting on Wednesday.

If the two sides can’t reach a deal by October 1, Spirit could ask the courts to change or reject the union contract, under a section of Chapter 11 bankruptcy law.

How much are Spirit pilots paid?

Airline pilots’ pay varies depending on seniority.

The contract, agreed in 2023, means first officers in their first year at Spirit make $97.15 an hour, while captains who have been there at least 12 years are paid $312 an hour.

With a minimum monthly guarantee of 72 hours, that translates to annual salaries between roughly $84,000 and $270,000.

With around 3,000 pilots, Spirit’s proposed cuts suggest they could face salary cuts of about $30,000 on average.

The value of seniority means long-serving employees could face a pay cut if they moved to another airline. Spirit offers the highest salaries of US budget carriers, although Delta, United, and American pay starting first officers over $100,000.

The union’s response

Captain Ryan Muller, the chair of the Spirit ALPA union’s master executive council, wrote to members on Tuesday and launched a survey to gather their thoughts on the negotiations.

He said that past bankruptcy proceedings show there is “a significant advantage to reaching a consensual agreement” with the company, rather than letting the bankruptcy court impose terms.

The news also prompted Spirit’s flight attendants’ union to write to its members on Wednesday.

While the airline hadn’t indicated it wanted to change its CBA, the union said it was “prepared for next steps management may take.”

“Again, this bankruptcy will be much more difficult than the last one,” the letter added.

Last month, Spirit filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year. It was previously under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection between November 2024 and March 2025.

When Business Insider asked Spirit for comment on the proposed salary negotiations, the airline referred to CEO Dave Davis’s Wednesday memo to staff.

In that memo, Davis said Spirit would cut 25% of its flight capacity and meet with labor unions as part of its efforts to reduce costs.

“Unfortunately, these are the tough calls we must make to emerge stronger,” Davis said.

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