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Aviation has reached an agreement to sell 20 of its Airbus planes and is recalling some of its flight crew who were laid off late last year amid the company’s budget-driven financial crisis.
The wind is in the middle of going through it second bankruptcy in less than two years, after it previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2024 and completed its first reorganization in March 2025. It filed for a second bankruptcy in August 2025, prompting the airline to move forward with service cuts and layoffs.
The company said selling the plane would improve its financial situation and the reduction in fleet is not expected to affect its flight schedule if the court approves the sale of the plane because most of the 20 planes are idle.
“As part of our ongoing restructuring, we have reached an agreement to sell 20 aircraft that have been held for sale for some time. The majority of these aircraft are currently not in active cash flow,” Spirit said in a statement.
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Spirit Airlines reached an agreement pending court approval to sell 20 of its Airbus aircraft. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
“If approved by the court, this transaction will give us great financial flexibility. The aircraft involved will be removed from our fleet from April 2026. We do not expect any changes in our immediate schedule or personnel as a result of this transaction,” Spirit added.
The company formally asked the federal bankruptcy court to be authorized to continue trading on Wednesday. The revenue from the operation will go toward paying down debt related to the aircraft, while also contributing to lower operating costs.
Reuters reported that the first bidder was CSDS Asset Management, an aviation asset manager that agreed buy 20 planes for an estimated $533.5 million. If approved, Spirit will seek competitive offers starting at approximately $554 million, according to the agreement with CSDS, and the auction and sale will be held in April.
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JetBlue won a bid to acquire Spirit in 2022, but the deal was blocked by regulators due to antitrust concerns. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Spirit Airlines on Thursday moved 500 of the more than 1,300 flight workers it laid off in December due to its ongoing financial problems.
“As we continue to make changes to meet the changing needs of our business, we are issuing recall notices to the 500 Flight Attendants who are being voluntarily laid off on Dec. 1, 2025. Retired Flight Attendants will be sent notice on Feb. 12, 2026, and those receiving information when they return to work will return to their Bar job. Agreement.”
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Frontier Airlines tried to buy Spirit in 2022 and 2025, but ran into regulatory hurdles in the first attempt and the bid was rejected last year. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service)
I Airline Attendants Association-CWAthe union that represents those who work on the Spirit plane, in a statement sent on the social media platform iX, that it will be sent back according to the seniors’ plan, and then those who will be taken out voluntarily.
“This is good news for the 500 Flight Attendants and their families and it is serious for those of us on the list who have faced difficult work in the past two months. The company’s goal to remember the Flight Attendants is to alleviate some of the work problems since the end of the period,” said the union.
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The union added that it will continue to press management on scheduling issues, access to health care and other benefits, as well as loyalty policy and other issues.
Reuters contributed to this report.
