what is Spirit Airlines Flight Schedules

Spirit Airlines Flight Schedules

Spirit Airlines has reduced its summer flight schedule from 5% to 7 percent to increase its reliability in light of Florida's air traffic control restrictions.

Spirit CEO Ted Christie stated that the FAA told them that they can expect these challenges this summer until they can adjust their staffing.

Spirit cancelled 8 percent of its scheduled April flights, FlightAware data indicates. However, cancellations declined in the second half the month after schedule adjustments were made by the carrier.

Spirit plans to fly 10% more capacity in this quarter than it did the second quarter 2019. However, this is a decrease relative to the first quarter of 2019, when Spirit flew 19.2% less capacity than it did three years ago. The carrier anticipates that it will increase its flying in the third quarter. It will offer 14% more flights in 2019 than it did in 2019, and then boost to 35% more capacity in the final three months.

Christie's remarks about the FAA were made after two days of meetings this past week between the agency and a dozen airlines, as well as other stakeholders in the aviation industry about Florida's airspace limitations.

Since at least the fall, airline operations have been affected by the growth of private and airline aviation operations in the Sunshine State. This has combined with frequent thunderstorm activity and FAA staffing shortages to cause periodic disruptions to airline operations.

At the meeting , the FAA informed airlines that it would increase the number authorized personnel at its Jacksonville air traffic control center and evaluate other Florida facilities.

Matt Klein, chief commercial officer at Christie and Spirit, stated that the airline has taken other steps to reduce air traffic disruptions, such as opening more bases and having more spare aircraft on hand. It also increased its use of out and back flying.

Christie explained that flying out-and back schedules reduces the number stations that are affected by delays in Florida. When flying point-to-point-to-point schedules, by comparison, a delay in one region reverberates further through the airline's network.

Thursday's first quarter net loss for Spirit was $194.7 million. Pre-tax operating losses are expected to be between 3% and 5% for this quarter, before the airline returns to profitability in the second half.