Spirit Airlines celebrated a major company first with the unveiling of its first A321neo aircraft in a ceremony at the airline’s Detroit maintenance hangar. The aircraft, N702NK, operate its first commercial flight on June 7. Spirit plans to accept seven more new A321neos in 2023, and 24 more are projected for delivery in 2024 in addition to other A320 Family aircraft deliveries.
The A321 is the largest member of the Airbus A320 Family, and Spirit currently operates 30 A321ceo aircraft in its fleet of nearly 200 aircraft. Going forward, all of Spirit’s A321 aircraft will deliver with new engine option (NEO) advanced engines that together with fuel-saving Sharklet wingtip devices, are 20 percent more fuel-efficient than A321ceo aircraft.
Spirit is currently in a fleet renewal process as it retires its A319ceo aircraft while adding larger, more modern aircraft to increase capacity and fuel efficiency. Spirit recently completed an agreement to sell 29 of its A319ceo aircraft, which are the oldest aircraft in Spirit’s fleet. The company is planning for all its A319ceo aircraft to transition out the fleet by the end of 2025.
