Judge Sean H Lane of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has authorised Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale International) to follow through with its plan to sell surplus A320-200s and A321-200s to GA Telesis, although the interim order covers only five aircraft.
The carrier will have to seek separate authorisation to enter subsequent transactions after 30 days.
The court ruled that GA Telesis' offer for the aircraft was "fair and reasonable" and "the highest and best offer" Spirit Airlines could achieve. The lessor will pay around USD519 million for the aircraft. All 23 aircraft are due to be sold by February 2025.
As required by the laws governing Chapter 11 restructuring, the airline has to secure court approval for the execution of the sale, even though it signed the contract with GA Telesis on October 29, 2024, before it filed for Chapter 11 protection. It indicated that some of the aircraft were already sold before Spirit initiated the restructuring on November 18, although it did not indicate how many transactions were left to be completed.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows that Spirit Airlines currently operates sixty-four A320-200s (of which it owns 34) and thirty A321-200s, which are all owned by the LCC.
