Spirit cuts 12 flights to cities you want to get to

Now that it is working to craft a way forward after filing for Chapter 11 protection in November 2024, Spirit Airlines (SAVE) is seriously reconsidering its network to trim any unprofitable routes in favor of those that bring in traffic and, by extension, revenue.

At the end of last year, the low-cost carrier significantly trimmed its Boston service to no longer fly to Logan Airport (BOS) from cities like Chicago, Charlotte, and Pittsburgh among others, while introducing dozens of new flights to tropical destinations two months later in January.

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A Spirit Airlines plane is seen flying over onlookers who are seen taking photos on a beach. The carrier has announced flight cuts to several cities.
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Spirit Airlines is cutting flights to these cities

As first reported by airline publication The Points Guy and later confirmed by Spirit, the airline will now also cut 12 domestic routes between cities such as Atlanta and New York, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City and New Orleans and San Juan in Puerto Rico.

The cuts, which Spirit has already started phasing out and will stop running by March, also include flights to California’s San Jose and Oakland from Burbank as well flights from Los Angeles to Reno, Salt Lake City and San Jose. A total of 12 routes are getting scrapped.

In the same type of statement it issues whenever it announces or confirms flight cuts, Spirit said that they “routinely evaluate our network and make adjustments to support the company's business strategy based on current market and operating conditions.”

Some of the cuts are to seasonal winter or spring flights that are not being renewed while others are being cut due to poor ticket sales.

Spirit Airlines to 'focus on (its) strongest performing routes'

"As part of this process, we adjusted our upcoming schedule to focus on our strongest performing routes in alignment with our current fleet size," the spokesperson added.

Cut routes from New York include a flight to New Orleans and West Palm Beach in Florida.

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Along with rethinking its networks and being more ruthless regarding cuts, Spirit's efforts to get out of bankruptcy and on the path toward profitability include getting rid of its decades-old business model of charging a single rock-bottom base seat fare and then adding extras for one in which customers choose between different bundles.

As part of the same effort to bring down costs, the carrier is also placing 130 of its pilots on furlough from Jan. 31 while downgrading a further 120 from captains to first officers.

At the time that it went public with the fact that it was seeking bankruptcy protection last fall, Spirit had accrued over $3.1 billion in long-term debt. It was able to push back some repayment deadlines as it works with creditors on a new turnaround plan.

While the debt was accrued over many years dating back to the pandemic, Spirit's financial woes came to a head after its Hail Mary of being rescued by an acquisition from JetBlue Airways (JBLU) was blocked by a federal judge over antitrust concerns at the start of 2024.

"We are implementing a series of cost savings initiatives throughout our business, including a reduction in workforce, as part of our comprehensive plan to return to profitability," a Spirit spokesperson said in October 2024.

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