Spirit Airlines to Receive its First Airbus A321NEO

ULCC Spirit Airlines (NK), based in Miramar, Florida, is set to receive its first Airbus A321neo, which had its maiden test flight on April 17, 2023.

With registration D-AVZU (Airbus test registration) and Spirit's standard yellow livery, the aircraft was flown by Airbus pilots and mechanics who checked its navigational and radio systems during the flight, reported Airways.

The flight path and altitude of the aircraft can be found on Flightradar24's website. Climbing to a cruising altitude of 31,000 feet (FL310, 9450m), the A321neo then reached its service ceiling of 39,000 feet (FL390, 11900m). The aircraft also performed a touch-and-go maneuver at Hamburg Airport's (HAM) runway 05 to test the ILS approach. The aircraft will later be registered as N702NK with MSN 11328.

The Spirit Airlines Airbus A321neo finally headed back to XFW airport and did a full-stop landing there.

According to Ch-aviation, the airline has placed the order for ten A321neo and is likely to receive them in this year and in 2024.

About Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines, Inc. is a low-cost airline based in Miramar, Florida, serving destinations across the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. In 2020, Spirit ranked as the eighth-largest passenger carrier in North America and the largest ultra-low-cost carrier in the region.

In July 2022, JetBlue made an offer to purchase Spirit for US$3.8 billion, which was approved by a majority of the airline's voting shareholders on October 19, 2022. However, in March 2023, the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to prevent the acquisition.

The US carrier has a fleet of 196 aircraft, including 140 Airbus A320s and 30 A321-200, as noted by Planespotters.net. As of April 2023, Spirit Airlines offers flights to 59 destinations within the United States and 33 international destinations spanning 17 countries, as noted by Flight Connections.