Spirit Airlines has reported a first quarter 2022 net loss of $194.7 million or ($1.79) per diluted share on a year-over-three increase in revenue of 13 percent to $967.3 million. At March 31, 2022, the carrier had total available liquidity of $1.6 billion.
On Wednesday (May 4, 2022), Spirit Airlines reported their first quarter financial results for the period ending March 31, 2022. The carrier reported a first quarter net loss of $194.7 million or ($1.79) per diluted share on a year-over-three increase in revenue of 13 percent to $967.3 million. At the end of the quarter, Spirit had $1.6 billion of unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and liquidity under the company’s revolving credit facility. The airline’s first quarter total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) declined 5.3 percent versus Q1 2019 to 8.25 cents, while total costs per available seat mile (CASM) increased 28.8 percent year-over-three to 10.06 cents. Costs excluding fuel (CASM-ex) increased 22.3 percent compared to Q1 2019 to 6.68 cents.
In Wednesday’s announcment, Spirit Airlines’ President and Chief Executive Officer, Ted Christie, said,
“Since mid-February 2022, we've seen a dramatic improvement in demand trends, with March total revenue per passenger segment up nearly 10 percent compared to March 2019. Our non-ticket production has been very strong driven by enhanced revenue management and merchandising of products that allow our Guests to customize their travel experience. As a result, we achieved record-high non-ticket revenue per passenger segment of $64.53 for the first quarter 2022, an increase of 14.8 percent compared to first quarter 2019, and we anticipate beating that record again in the second quarter 2022. In addition, based on our current booking trends, we expect second quarter 2022 ticket revenue per segment to be significantly higher than it was in the second quarter 2019.
“I also want to acknowledge and thank the entire Spirit team for their continued efforts to care for our Guests and each other. Late last year, we cut our planned capacity growth for 2022 in light of various staffing challenges and felt very good about our ability to operate the revised summer schedule. However, the airline industry has been impacted by an increase in Air Traffic Control ("ATC") programs and restrictions in Florida, largely driven by ATC staffing shortages. This has had an outsized impact on our operations given our large concentration in Florida. As a result, in mid-April, we made the decision to decrease some flying in Florida and increase the buffers in our schedule, which drove additional capacity reductions. We expect to resume our planned capacity levels in the fourth quarter this year due to already-planned crew network changes set to deploy this summer and increased pilot hiring that has been happening throughout the year.”
During the first quarter, Spirit took delivery of three new Airbus A320neos, ending the period with a fleet of 176 aircraft. CAPEX for the quarter totaled $53.2 million, primarily attributable to the purchase of spare parts and one spare engine.
Miramar, Florida-based low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) is committed to offering the best value in the sky with service to destinations in the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean. The airline allows customers to select and pay for only the products and services they want, something they call “À La Smarte.” Spirit also operates one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the U.S. The carrier proudly calls their youthful fleet of aircraft their “Fit Fleet®.” Spirit Airlines will add 24 new fuel-efficient Airbus A320neos to their fleet in 2022, as well as 33 new aircraft in 2023.
In trading Thursday morning (May 5, 2022), shares in Spirit Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: SAVE) were 3.55% lower at $20.93/share (10:40 AM EDT).
Source: Spirit Airlines/PRNewswire