Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale International) is in talks with Airbus regarding aircraft deferrals which, if successful, could save the ultra-low-cost carrier USD185 million in capital expenditure, Chief Financial Officer Scott Haralson said during a quarterly earnings call.

"We are in discussions with Airbus to defer some of our 2020 and 2021 aircraft deliveries in corresponding pre-delivery deposits," he said.

The airline has 130 aircraft on firm outstanding order: forty-seven A319-100neo, sixty-three A320-200neo, and twenty A321-200neo, the ch-aviation fleets module shows, with deliveries scheduled through 2027. It has a further eleven A320neo on order from lessors with deliveries due in 2020 and 2021.

Haralson underlined that Spirit was, for the most part, talking directly to Airbus about delivery deferrals rather than lessors given the more intricate complexity of its lease contracts. However, the airline is in talks regarding lease payments deferrals.

"We are in discussions with our lessors, lenders and all of our significant vendors about payment deferrals," Haralson underlined.

According to the ch-aviation fleets ownership module, Spirit Airlines currently owns 98 of its 153 aircraft and leases the remainder from 13 lessors. The lessor with the greatest exposure to Spirit is AerCap, which owns fourteen A320neo.