Spirit Airlines and Airbus have signed a memorandum of understanding for the Florida-based carrier to purchase up to 100 A320 neo-family aircraft.
The planes will be a mix of A319, A320 and A321 craft, all in the fuel-efficient neo version.
Spirit purchased an A321 in September 2016, the tenth plane delivered from the Airbus final assembly line in Mobile, and in 2017 the first Mobile-built A320.
“This new order represents another milestone for Spirit,” said Ted Christie, president and CEO of Spirit, an ultra-low-cost carrier based in South Florida. “The additional aircraft will be used to support Spirit’s growth as we add new destinations and expand our network across the U.S., Latin American, and the Caribbean.”
“The Airbus A320 family has been a strong platform for the remarkable success of Spirit over the past several years,” said Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer. “We look forward to playing a part in the Spirit team’s continued growth for many, many years to come.”
The Airbus neo — or new engine option — versions use new generation engines and Sharklets — the Airbus terms for up-curved wingtips — to cut fuel burn by about 20 percent and noise by about half, compared to previous generation aircraft.
As of the end of September, Airbus has more than 6,650 firm orders for A320 neo family aircraft from about 110 customers worldwide.
