Spirit Airlines transferred its order for 52 Airbus A320 and A321neo aircraft to AerCap Holdings in a settlement approved by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on 10 October.
The agreement resolves a late August dispute where AerCap terminated leases for 36 undelivered A320neo jets due 2027-2028 and declared defaults on 37 existing leases.
Spirit relinquishes the 52 aircraft commitment and options for 10 more, enabling AerCap to take production slots from Airbus, in exchange for €138m cash and retention of €8.9m deposits.
AerCap holds an unsecured claim up to €525m against Spirit’s estate and allows rejection of 27 of 37 leases, cutting the fleet by nearly 100 aircraft.
New leases cover 30 A320 or A321 aircraft, deliveries split across 2027, 2028 and 2029, amid Spirit’s second 2025 Chapter 11 filing after a March exit and a €226m Q2 net loss.
The airline furloughs 1,800 flight attendants from 1 December, 270 pilots from 1 October and demotes 140 captains to first officers on 1 November.
Post-adjustment, 90 aircraft on order and 50 options focus on A320neo and A321neo, providing €110m liquidity and hundreds ofms in euro cost reductions.AerCap, Dublin-based, secures slots as the largest lessor; Airbus reports no production disruption;
