Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) reported its Q4 results on Monday, with EPS of $0.12 beating the Street estimate of $0.03, driven by strong demand for air travel despite economic challenges. Revenue was $1.39 billion, in line with expectations.
Aircraft utilization was 10.8 hours in Q4, down 7.7% from 11.7 hours in Q4/19. Spirit has been building back its fleet utilization to the best of its ability in light of unexpected setbacks from Geared Turbo Fan (GTF) engine availability issues and stressed industry infrastructure. However, given these issues combined with Airbus aircraft delivery delays, the company has decided to take a more measured approach to capacity planning for 2023. The company forecasts Q1/23 capacity to be up 13.2% year-over-year and full-year capacity up 19% – 22%.