Spirit Airlines Continues Cutting Florida-Bound Flights As Network Reshuffles (2024)

Spirit Airlines has revealed its flight schedule for November and December 2024, which indicates that the low-cost carrier has continued to cut Florida-bound flights. During one of the two winter months, weekly flights to The Sunshine State were cut by as much as 19%.

Further Florida cuts

Over the past few months, Spirit Airlines has been forced to redeploy its capacity from Florida and focus on other destinations within the US and nearby countries. Cuts will continue in November and December 2024, with data from the aviation analytics company Cirium unveiling the extent of the cuts to its Florida-bound flights.

While the airline has not uploaded its schedules for the remainder of the upcoming winter season, which begins on October 26, Spirit Airlines schedules showed that it will have 19% fewer weekly flights to Florida in November. Subsequently, this will result in 17.8% fewer seats and 17.5% fewer available seat kilometers (ASK), measuring total capacity.

Photo:Robin Guess | Shutterstock

In terms of specific airports, some of them, such as Pensacola International Airport (PNS) or West Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), will barely be impacted by Spirit Airlines' schedule changes. Year-on-year (YoY), the pair will have two and seven fewer flights, respectively. However, Orlando International Airport (MCO), Miami International Airport (MIA), and Tampa International Airport (TPA) will see the most significant capacity cuts in November. The low-cost carrier has scheduled 151, 68, and 46 fewer weekly flights to the three airports, respectively. Overall, Spirit Airlines plans to operate 1,404 weekly flights to seven airports in The Sunshine State.

December reductions

The carrier's changes in December are not as drastic. Still, MCO, MIA, TPA, and Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) are some of the airports most affected by the latest schedule filing by the low-cost carrier, as shown in the table below. Only Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) will see more flights compared to the same month a year prior.

At the same time, it comes as no surprise that Spirit Airlines has to cut capacity. After all, the accelerated removals and inspections of the PW1100G engines have resulted in the airline expecting to ground around 25 aircraft throughout 2024. The Pratt & Whitney powerplant is one of the options for airlines operating the Airbus A320neo aircraft family.

However, data has shown barely any difference in flights operated by the A320neo and A321neo to Florida. For November, Spirit Airlines has scheduled 27 fewer A320neo/A321neo weekly flights, while, in December, the Sunshine State will receive 18 fewer frequencies operated by the Airbus' latest-generation single-aisle jet family.

Photo:HMBSoFL Photography | Shutterstock

Thus, Florida, the focus market for Spirit Airlines and other US-based airlines throughout the pandemic, has become a place of discomfort. However, weekly flights to Florida will only decrease by 2.6% in December.

Three carriers have cut the most flights to Florida during the month: Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Southwest Airlines. Meanwhile, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Allegiant Air, and even Breeze Airways added capacity YoY, with American Airlines leading the way with 374 additional weekly flights during the last month of 2024.

Las Vegas'gain

Nevertheless, while Spirit Airlines' Q1 report outlined that its full-year capacity should stay flat or go up by low-single digits, it has continued readjusting its network, adding flights elsewhere. The airports with the highest gain in December are Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), and Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).

Photo:GingChen | Shutterstock

Spirit Airlines should have 4% and 1.8% fewer weekly flights in November and December, respectively, with its full-year capacity, measured in ASKs, growing by 1.9%. The schedules could change as the year continues, with the carrier potentially adjusting its network according to demand and the PW1100G-related groundings.

Liquidity concerns

The low-cost carrier business model is based on growth, scale, and comparatively lower operating costs. As a result, Spirit Airlines' capacity staying flat or growing by a few single digits could cause liquidity concerns for the airline, especially as its competition is actively growing. Still, Ted Christie, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Spirit Airlines, the company’s shareholders during an annual meeting on June 7 that the airline was not planning to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

Photo: Spirit Airlines

That was not the first time that Christie had to deny the airline's plans or intentions to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Shortly after a judge ended the JetBlue-Spirit Airlines merger, the latter airline's CEO stated that speculation about the airline's liquidity issues was a misguided narrative.

At the end of 2023, Spirit Airlines had $1.4 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash. By the end of Q1 2024, the airline's cash reserves dwindled to $898 million. Scott Haralson, the executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of Spirit Airlines, who has now left the company, emphasized at the airline's Q1 earnings call that its liquidity should be more than enough to turn the airline's fortunes around and make sure it was cash flow positive in Q2 and beyond. In 2023, Spirit Airlines issued its Q2 2023 results on August 3.