By Spirit Airlines Inc. said it is cutting back on flights in the coming months, seeking to insulate its operations from weather disruptions and prevent the kind of cascading cancellations that have marred its operation recently.
Spirit
SAVE,
+2.59%
is the latest airline to throttle back its plans ahead of what airlines anticipate will be a frenzied summer. JetBlue Airways Corp.
JBLU,
+4.19%
said this month it would cut up to 10% of flights as it contends with a shortage of staff in some areas. Alaska Air Group Inc.
ALK,
+2.43%
trimmed 2% of flights through the end of June, citing the need to catch up on pilot training.
Spirit plans to reduce flying by 5% to 6% in June after making smaller adjustments in April and May, citing airspace slowdowns during recent storms in Florida that rippled throughout its network, causing delays and cancellations to pile up and straining the airline’s staffing. The airline said it will carry its new June schedule through Aug. 9.
“We felt like we were in shape and ready to go for the summer,” Spirit Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Matt Klein said in an interview. “This last round of what we’ve been seeing the last few weeks has made us rethink that position and we just have to make these changes now to the network.”
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
Also popular on WSJ.com:
Judge throws out federal mask mandate for public transportation.
Russia begins new military offensive in Ukraine’s east, Ukrainian president says.
