Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines withdraws motion to return two Airbus A320 aircraft to lessor

Spirit Airlines continues using its Chapter 11 bankruptcy to downsize its operations, including its fleet.

Spirit Airlines has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy motion that would withdraw its earlier motion to return two Airbus A320ceo aircraft to their lessor, ST Engineering, which would have had to pick up the aircraft in January and February 2026.

In a motion filed on December 21, 2026, Spirit Airlines told the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York that it is withdrawing its motion to return aircraft, which it had deemed as excess.

The two A320ceo aircraft, registered as N627NK and N628NK, would have been disposed of at Phoenix Goodyear Airport (GYR) on January 7, 2026 (N627NK) and February 11, 2026 (N628NK).

According to the filing, on December 10, the airline’s counsel adjourned the hearing related to a previous motion that looked to reject the leases for 11 aircraft, including the two aforementioned A320ceos, and five other A320neo and four other A320ceo aircraft.

“Following the filing of the motion, [Spirit Airlines] continued to consider methods for the return and surrender of certain aircraft, engines, and other equipment in order to optimize [its] operations.”

Thus, following a mutual agreement with “a certain lessor,” approved by the court on December 10, the low-cost carrier no longer desired to reject the leases for the two aircraft, keeping its rights to “refile, including any rejection or other elections, with respect to the” pair of A320ceos.

While parts of the agreement was sealed following the parties’ request, it did include the text that Spirit Airlines will pay Keystone, a special purchase vehicle (SPV) of ST Engineering, for a specific period, “provided that no interim payments shall be payable by Spirit for any aircraft for any period (pro-rated for partial months) in which such aircraft has been taken out of commercial service by Spirit.”

Out of the 11 aircraft whose leases Spirit Airlines had looked to reject, the airline received no objections for four, two A320neo and two A320ceo, while leases for five other aircraft could be rejected during a hearing on December 22.

Interestingly, the airline recently repainted N628NK with a special ‘Holiday Sweater’ livery, with the aircraft’s fuselage now “styling a holiday sweater with snowman and gingerbread man designs.”

The low-cost carrier, which unveiled the livery on December 18, said that during the peak holiday period, it will operate more than 8,900 flights.

During the same day, the court will decide whether to approve Spirit Airlines’ agreement with International Aero Engines (IAE), a subsidiary of Pratt & Whitney and other companies, which had reached a deal with the low-cost carrier on December 3.

In their agreement, Spirit Airlines committed to lease and/or operate no less than 10 and up to 28 A320neo family aircraft, including the A321neo, and at least 78 A320ceo family aircraft.

According to Fred Cromer, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Spirit Airlines, the court’s approval of the motion would help the airline achieve its goals during the court-protected restructuring process, not only because the low-cost carrier will obtain fresh PW1100G engines for its A320neo family aircraft, but also because the two sides have settled any debt-related disputes and amended engine maintenance agreements to reflect Spirit Airlines’ fleet plans.

Spirit Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 29, having exited its previous court-protected reorganization on March 12.