2025 has been a difficult year for air travel in the United States. Air traffic control shortages, fatal accidents and other mishaps have caused skepticism among American travelers. Some have also cited rising travel costs as a reason for staying away from the airport, but that could change over the next few months.
The end of the year and the holiday season is a busy time for travel, as millions of Americans are set to fly across the nation for gatherings on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.
One of the most budget-friendly airlines around will have flights on offer during the holidays, but they’ll do so with a significant reduction in staff.
On Tuesday, Spirit Airlines announced that it will furlough over 1,000 flight attendants ahead of the holiday season – one of the busiest travel times of the year. In total, between 1,800 and 5,200 attendants will be furloughed, with the first group to be considered before a December 1 deadline.
Spirit says that the furloughs are being done in an effort to “align staffing with our fleet size and expected flight volume.”
How Will The Furloughs Work For Flight Attendants?
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the union that represents Spirit’s flight attendants, told USA TODAY that the company must offer voluntary furloughs before introducing them on an involuntary basis.
The union says that after offering the voluntary furloughs, the company will transition to involuntary furloughs through inverse seniority until the 1,800 number is reached ahead of the December deadline.
The move comes after Spirit has filed for bankruptcy twice in less than one year. The company first filed in November of 2024, then filed once again in August.
The furlough plan also comes after Spirit announced a previous reduction in staff that would affect pilots – 270 will no longer be with the company as of November 1.
Spirit Continues to Face Financial Challenges
Spirit is also stopping service to certain airports to save money. Those airports and markets include Birmingham, Oakland, Portland, Salt Lake City and Sacramento, with service stopping early next month.
Spirit Airlines reported net losses of nearly $250 million in a quarterly filing over the summer, another indicator of how dire the financial situation has become for the airline.
Customers relied on Spirit for cheap fares and no-frills travel for many years, but the continued decline and desperate efforts to reduce costs have become too much to ignore. It appears that Spirit’s days are numbered as an airline, especially with the repeated methods of downsizing its staff.
