Spirit Airlines’ aggressive cost-cutting campaign reached into the ranks of its flight attendants Monday as the budget carrier announced the furloughs of 1,800 or one-third of the cabin crew employees by Dec. 1.
The action comes after the South Florida-based budget airline, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for a second time in late August, confirmed last week that it intends to slash capacity by 25% in November. It has also informed its unionized pilots that it is seeking $100 million in cost concessions from their contract before Oct. 1.
“As part of our ongoing restructuring, we are taking steps to align staffing with our fleet size and expected flight volume,” the airline said in a statement. “In line with this process, we have made the difficult decision to furlough approximately 1,800 Flight Attendants, effective Dec. 1, 2025. We recognize the impact of this decision on affected Team Members, and we are committed to treating them with care and respect during this process.”
The attendants were notified of the impending furloughs in a note from Chief Operating Officer John Bendoraitis on Monday morning. Spirit currently employs approximately 5,200 flight attendants, all of whom are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.
Bendoraitis said that to date, the airline had been able to avoid furloughs through a program of “extended voluntary time off.”
“At times, we had over 1,000 Flight Attendants on an EVTO or VTO, and currently we have over 800,” the executive said. “However, there is a limit to how many people can volunteer for these types of leave, and we have reached that mark. We need to shift our focus to a complete rightsizing of the airline, which means volume-based adjustments to our Flight Attendant group and across our teams.”
“The challenges of recent months have asked a lot of you, and I know what’s top of mind is what the restructuring means for your job,” he wrote. “As we work to return Spirit to profitability, we face difficult decisions about our network, our fleet, and ultimately our workforce.”
Bendoraitis said he recognized the notice was “hard news” for those receiving it, and affects not only the attendants but their families. He said the company is grateful for the employees’ work.
On Monday afternoon, an AFA spokesperson acknowledged the furlough notice to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, but added that “management must offer voluntary furloughs first, before involuntary furloughs.”
After the offers for voluntary furloughs are made, management will proceed with involuntary furloughs under terms of the AFA contract. Voluntary furloughs are being offered for time frames of six months to one year and are scheduled to start Nov. 1, which is when the airline’s capacity cuts take hold.
The union in its own note to the attendants said it intends to arrange preferential job interviews at other airlines for Spirit AFA members.
Spirit last week telegraphed its decision to pursue aggressive labor cost cuts in a note to employees from CEO and President Dave Davis, who was hired this past spring after the airline exited its first trip into bankruptcy court.
The note made clear that management had approached the point where it had to make difficult financial cuts, and that it was prepared to meet with union leaders to discuss them.
Although the Spirit contingent of the Air Line Pilots Association has acknowledged the airline’s bid for concessions, it has declined to discuss the options in public. The airline recently has announced the furloughs of 270 pilots and demotions of 140 captains.
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