Judge Sean H. Lane of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York authorised Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale International) to execute its previously agreed aircraft transactions with GA Telesis and Jackson Square Aviation. The former covers the sale of 23 aircraft, and the latter the sale and leaseback of four new A321-200NX.
The low-cost carrier, currently in Chapter 11 restructuring, was already authorised to sell the first five aircraft to GA Telesis on December 7. On December 18, the court greenlighted the full transaction, which includes fifteen A320-200s and eight A321-200s. The lessor said it was currently "in the process of processing the first deliveries from Spirit".
The companies did not disclose the identity of the aircraft. Spirit currently owns thirty-four A320-200s and thirty A321-200s, the ch-aviation fleets ownership module shows. The transaction is valued at around USD519 million, and all 23 aircraft are scheduled to be handed over to the lessor by the end of February 2025. The court asked Spirit and GA Telesis to notify each individual transaction to the US Trustee, the US Department of Justice institution overseeing bankruptcy cases, five days in advance.
Meanwhile, on the same day, the judge also authorised the airline to enter into a pre-agreed sale-and-leaseback deal with JSA International U.S. Holdings, a unit of Jackson Square Aviation, in relation to four A321-200NX. The first of these, N739NK (msn 12324), was delivered to the airline on December 21, 2024. The other three are due by April 2024.
