Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale International) expects to return to profitability in 2027 with a net profit of about USD219 million, after it revamps its business under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, reduces its fleet, halves costs, and rightsizes its employee headcount.

The ultra-low-cost carrier said in a regulatory filing that the current Chapter 11 process is focused on fully transforming the company, ensuring a “viable go-forward business” by redesigning its network, aligning the fleet to match the revised network plan, improving operational performance, completing product changes to drive premium revenue, and optimising the cost structure, including its engine maintenance and support contracts.

The fleet plan includes keeping mid-life owned A320-200s and A321-200s while shedding leases, reducing balance sheet debt and lease obligations by over USD3 billion (or estimated annual rent savings of USD400 million). According to ch-aviation data, Spirit Airlines owns thirty A320-200s and twenty-seven A321-200s. All ninety-one A320-200Ns and thirty-two A321-200NX are dry-leased, as are thirty-two A320ceo and two A321ceo.

As of September 2025, Spirit had 214 aircraft in its fleet, only 158 of which were available to fly (twenty A320/A321ceo were held for sale and 38 of the A320/A321neo were parked due to powdered metal issues in its GTF engines; an additional 40 aircraft, or more, are expected to be parked due to Pratt & Whitney engine issues, the company said in its filing). The carrier’s network was recently operated with between 140 and 144 aircraft, the company said.

To address this imbalance, Spirit Airlines has been negotiating with all 20 lessors, and recently struck deals to heavily reduce its fleet and axe future aircraft deliveries.

In line with the anticipated fleet reduction, the airline expects its capacity to decline by about 20% in 2026 and resume growth in 2027, before stabilising at around a 9% growth rate thereafter.

Other cost reduction initiatives include rightsizing its workforce (with expected annual savings of USD211 million), reviewing and renegotiating maintenance and vendor contracts, and cutting advertisement spending for savings of USD123 million, and reducing preferred access gates and other airport rents, and revising ground-handling and third-party contracts for USD116 million.

As a result, Spirit expects to close 2025 with a net loss of USD804 million and 2026 with a net loss of USD145 million, before returning to profitability in 2027 with a net profit of USD219 million, USD378 million in 2028, and USD471 million in 2029.

As part of its Chapter 11 proceedings, Spirit Airlines is looking for USD1.33 billion in total debtor-in-possession financing.