For the first quarter 2023, Spirit Airlines (Spirit) reported a net loss of US$103.9 million. Excluding special items, adjusted net loss for the first quarter 2023 was US$89.4 million. Spirit reported a pre-tax loss of US$141.6 million and a pre-tax margin of negative 10.5%. Adjusted pre-tax loss for the first quarter was US$120.6 million and adjusted pre-tax margin was negative 8.9%.
Operations
For the first quarter 2023, Spirit’s load factor was 80.8%. The company experienced several adverse weather events across its network during the first quarter leading to a DOT on-time performance of 69.4% and a DOT Completion Factor of 98.3%. Excluding these weather-related and other uncontrollable events, Spirit’s controllable completion factor for the first quarter 2023 was 99.6%.
Revenue
Spirit reported total operating revenues for the first quarter 2023 were US$1.3 billion, an increase of 39.5% compared to the first quarter 2022. Total revenue per ASM (TRASM) was 10.22 cents, up 23.9% compared to the first quarter 2022 on 12.7% more capacity. This TRASM result was in line with expectations provided in mid-March 2023.
On a per passenger flight segment basis, compared to the same period in 2022, total revenue per passenger flight segment for the first quarter 2023 increased 12.0 percent to US$127.36. Compared to the first quarter 2022, fare revenue per segment increased 16.8% to US$57.45 and non-ticket revenue per segment increased 8.3 percent to US$69.913
Cost Performance
Total GAAP operating expenses for the first quarter 2023 increased 24.0% compared to the first quarter 2022 to US$1,462.2 million. Adjusted operating expenses for the first quarter 2023 increased 25.1% compared to the first quarter 2022 to US$1,441.1 million. Compared to the first quarter 2022, these increases were primarily driven by increased flight volume, additional aircraft, higher fuel prices and inflationary wage pressures.
Compared to the guidance Spirit gave in mid-March 2023, the company’s total operating expenses for the first quarter 2023 came in better-than-expected primarily due to a lower average fuel price per gallon for the quarter. (£1.00 = US$1.25 at time of publication).
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