United States · ULCC
Spirit Airlines
NK · NKS Unaligned ULCC
Reference
- IATA / ICAO
- NK · NKS
- Country
- United States
- Founded
- 1980
- Headquarters
- Dania Beach, Florida, US
- Chief executive
- Ted Christie
- Ownership
- Public (NYSE: SAVE)
- Employees
- 13,000 (2024)
Fleet
| Aircraft type | Count |
|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 24 |
| Airbus A320-200 | 64 |
| Airbus A320neo | 67 |
| Airbus A321-200 | 30 |
| Airbus A321neo | 28 |
Hubs & focus cities
A hub is the carrier's primary connecting base; a focus city is a smaller market with concentrated point-to-point service. Codes link to per-airport profiles when available.
Ownership & financials
Network
Route network: 85+ destinations.
Per-route passenger volumes from US DOT BTS T-100 segment data are a planned upgrade to this block.
Loyalty program
Program: Free Spirit
Notable history
Founded in 1980 as Charter One; rebranded as Spirit Airlines in 1992 and pivoted to a pure ultra-low-cost model in the mid-2000s, pioneering unbundled-fare ULCC pricing in the US. Filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2024 after the JetBlue merger was blocked by the DOJ. Emerged from Chapter 11 in March 2025 with a restructured balance sheet.
About this profile
Reference data (codes, headquarters, founding year, alliance, ownership) is curated from each carrier's own published materials, the US DOT BTS Form 41 filings, and SEC filings for publicly-listed carriers. Fleet rosters reflect the active in-service fleet at the time of the most recent data refresh; aircraft on order are not counted toward fleet totals. Average fleet age is calculated from the same active fleet.
Hubs and focus cities are sourced from the carrier's own destinations or about pages. Loyalty program partner lists are drawn from each program's published partner roster.
This profile is re-verified on a recurring monthly cadence aligned to the US DOT BTS Form 41 release schedule.