Spirit Airlines plans (again*) to sell 20 aircraft from its fleet as part of its reorganization and recapitalization effort. The deal should net the carrier just over $500 million.
Notable for a limited set of interested parties, the transaction requires the de-installation of the inflight internet hardware from the aircraft. The court filing specifies that, “WiFi STC demodification is performed in accordance with the FAA-approved STC demodification instructions.”
It further lists the parts which will not be included in the transaction, covering the full on-board installation kit for the Thales-powered IFC solution.
It is not entirely unusual to see a de-mod requirement for extra hardware on aircraft as part of these transactions. But, also, sometimes the kit stays on board. Part of that is based on the transaction partners’ expected plans for the planes, and part on what solution is installed. In this case it is clear that the buyers do not see value in carrying the Thales IFC systems for wherever the planes might eventually be placed.
The aircraft in question are mostly out of service already, so the deal should not have a material impact on the carrier’s scheduled operations. Deliveries to the buyer are expected over a 150 day period, once the contract is finalized.
* These are the same planes that were scheduled to be sold to GA Telesis during the first bankruptcy process. They were never transferred, however, and now finally found a new home. The purchase price in that deal was reported to be $519 million, suggesting the per-aircraft price ticked up slightly in this new sale.
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