Spirit to Auction 20 Airbus Jets, Strips Wi-Fi Hardware

‍DANIA BEACH — Spirit Aviation Holdings, parent of Spirit Airlines (NK), is asking the Chapter 11 court to approve a bidding process to sell 20 owned Airbus narrowbodies, 13 A320-200s, and seven A321-200s, with CSDS Asset Management lined up as the “stalking horse” buyer at about US$533.5 million.

Reuters reports NK would seek competing offers starting around US$554 million, with the auction expected in April.

A notable twist: the aircraft are expected to be delivered with Thales connectivity equipment removed, including the external radome, per PaxEx’s reporting on the transaction details. Spirit previously equipped parts of its fleet with Thales’ FlytLIVE high-speed Wi-Fi system, making the removal a meaningful configuration change ahead of any handover.

The sale underscores the ailing LCC’s continued fleet right-sizing under restructuring, monetizing owned assets to raise cash and reduce carrying costs, while the Wi-Fi de-install suggests the airline is protecting transferable kit value (or avoiding buyer reconfiguration penalties) as these airframes exit the long-term plan.