Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale International) said it will furlough 365 additional pilots and downgrade up to 170 more in the first quarter of 2026, as it continues with a headcount reduction, part of its ongoing financial reorganisation under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

"As part of our ongoing restructuring, we are taking additional steps to align staffing across our organization with our previously announced capacity reduction and smaller operating fleet size," the company said in a statement to ch-aviation.

The ultra-low-cost carrier currently has about 2,400 pilots. It has previously furloughed some 330 pilots and plans to offload another 270 in November, while also furloughing 1,800 flight attendants effective December 1. The company is also heavily reducing its fleet and trimming capacity.

When it initially filed for bankruptcy in August, Spirit Airlines told the union representing its pilots that it wanted to cut USD100 million in annual spending on pilots.

The carrier also plans to close its maintenance stations and warehouse operations in Baltimore International and Chicago O'Hare and make “volume-based staffing adjustments” across other stations effective January 1, 2026. In parallel, the company is seeking authorisation to reject several airport and warehouse lease agreements in other airports, such as Miami International, Manchester, NH, and Hartford Bradley, and has exited several airports already, ch-aviation reported.

Through the furloughs, Spirit expects to save USD211 million. The company expects to post net losses of USD804 million in 2025 and USD145 million in 2026, before an expected return to profitability in 2027.