A US bankruptcy court has approved Spirit Airlines' sale of two gates at Chicago O'Hare International Airport to American Airlines for $30 million, according to court filings published on Monday (December 8).
The US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved Spirit's motion to transfer gates G8 and G10 in Terminal 3 to American Airlines.
Spirit will use the proceeds to prepay its debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing. Spirit secured up to $475 million in DIP financing from both its existing bondholders and through a settlement agreement with AerCap, which included a $150 million cash injection and lease rejections.
Spirit filed for bankruptcy in August this year — only months after it exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March. The airline had cited liquidity concerns and operational concerns amid softening demand.
The assignment to American is effective immediately, according to the documents, and runs through September 30, 2027.
In a separate order filed the same day, the court approved Spirit's amendment to its lease agreements with Carlyle Aviation.
The order allows Spirit to amend and assume leases for five Airbus A320-200 aircraft, including lease extensions and financial contributions from lessors toward engine maintenance. Lessors will be given "general unsecured claims" equal to 80% of their contributions.
The terms of the restructured agreement were largely undisclosed, with the document being heavily redacted. The document did show that the amended leases can be put into effect immediately.
Spirit Airlines had previously announced plans to furlough 365 pilots — around 10% of its workforce — and downgrade 170 captains in the first quarter of 2026.
Their representatives, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), revealed on Friday last week that Spirit would be scrapping the furlough plans and trimming the downgrades to 25.
The decision came after discussions between ALPA and Spirit, with the union informing the airline that several staff resignations from Spirit following the restructuring announcement had rendered a furlough spree unnecessary.
On December 3, it was revealed that Spirit would be cutting its fleet in half as part of its restructuring plan, according to court documents.
The airline will keep up to 28 A320neo family aircraft, removing the rest from its fleet, including their associated engines, once the restructuring plan comes into effect. Spirit will need to keep a minimum of 10 A320neo jets in its fleet.
According to its third-quarter results, the airline had 91 A320neo and 32 A321neo as of the end of September 2025.
Additionally, Spirit will keep at least 78 of the older A320ceo family aircraft, with all the remaining removed from its fleet. The company had 91 of the older A320 family models in its fleet at the end of September.
In total, Spirit had 214 aircraft in its fleet. Even with the maximum number of A320neo family aircraft allowed in its plan, the reduction means the airline will cut its fleet in half to 106 aircraft in total.
In its third-quarter earnings report, the airline said it will close its maintenance stations and warehouse operations in Chicago and Baltimore from the start of next year. Management said it will make “volume-based staffing adjustments” across its technical operation stations.
Spirit narrowed its operating loss to $134.9 million, improving from a $296.4 million a year prior.
While operating revenues fell from $1.2bn last year to $958.5 million this year, operating expenses also fell to $1.1bn — compared to $1.5bn last year.