The airline’s collapse has left half a billion dollars’ worth of leased planes sitting at gates across the country with no pilots, no gate staff and no one in charge.
Goodyear, Arizona — When Spirit Airlines collapsesit doesn’t just leave passengers stranded. Half a billion dollars worth of leased planes are sitting at gates across the country with no pilots, no gate staff and no one in charge.
Nomadic Aviation signs contract with leasing company bring back those planes. He had a few hours to achieve this goal.
“They said, get ready to go. Friday at 6 p.m. I got a call saying pull the trigger and have crews go to all these different airports. We’ll give you a list,” said Bob Allen, owner of Nomadic Aviation.
Spirit had been struggling for months but was quickly shut down. No call center, no warning. Some aircraft simply remain at the gate during operations.
“That’s when they were literally abandoned by Spirit. They closed the door. The plane was parked where they dropped off the passengers,” Allen said.
Time is a factor. The planes are unattended, unmaintained, unsecured and unchecked.
“So we had six hours to find 20 pilots for the first planes,” Allen said.
Allen started with the most available pilots he could find: those who had just lost their jobs when Spirit closed. Some of them were still in the air when airlines stopped operating. Others are preparing for flights they will never take.
Allen said he completely understands what they are going through.
“The reason I relate to all of this is because I’ve been through the same situation four or five times. My airline closed overnight. I woke up the next morning and I didn’t have a job. I was worried about how I was going to pay my mortgage? How I was going to pay my medical bills? I have young kids and I know what they’re going through,” Allen said.
He hired as many former Spirit pilots as he could and sent them across the country. But repossessing a commercial aircraft isn’t as simple as bringing the right documents.
“It starts with us sending pilots to knock on the door of airport security, the airport authority, and say, I’m here to pick up our plane. We’re moving it on behalf of the leasing company. And then the airport authority looks at you like you’re completely crazy,” Allen said.
After the paperwork was sorted and the fuel tanks refueled, the plane took off and headed to Arizona.
There are now more than two dozen Spirit Jets parked in the Arizona desert. Allen said the planes could be leased again, sold or scrapped. In some cases, only the engine is leased and may be removed individually.
