Fellow Spirit ALPA Pilots,
This week there have been numerous payments sent to Spirit pilots. These payments have occurred for a few different reasons, which we will outline below. In addition, we will provide an update on soft landing opportunities at different airlines throughout the industry.
- The true-up contributions for pilots enrolled in the Pilot 401(k) Plan were processed and were reflected as of June 30, 2026.
- Pilot 401(k) accounts are continuing to be terminated, please contact Schwab directly if you are expecting a termination of your account and are not able to access your funds.
- 666 Pilots (up from 584), are due to receive excess funding refunds under IRS 415(c) or refunds as a result of non-discrimination testing failures based on the partial-year plan limits provided in a previous Custodian Update. Refunds from the plan total approximately $2.4 million. As of July 9th, the Company is continuing to work with Schwab to process these individuals and terminate them from the plan.
- More than 600 Pilots should have received their share of the $450,000 owed for 401(a)(17) “cash over cap” payments under CBA 28.E. These payments were disseminated from Spirit Airlines on July 8th, 2026. Payments were made through the direct deposit account on file at the time of termination.
- This week, four Pilots had just over $9,000 in contributions converted from pre-tax to deemed Roth to maintain compliance with the new 2026 Secure 2.0 Roth contribution requirements.
The number of people offering support at the Company continues to shrink as Spirit goes deeper into the shutdown. The Custodian team has no way to verify the accuracy of any of the 401(K) payments listed above. We do know that HR@spirit.com continues to be monitored. Any questions regarding the amounts of payments listed above should be directed there.
Yesterday Spirit paid 183 LGA/EWR-based pilots amounts the Company determined they are owed under New Jersey’s WARN Act. Unlike the federal WARN Act, New Jersey’s law makes directors and officers of a company liable for damages for failure to provide notice of a cessation of operations (one week’s pay for every year of service plus four weeks’ pay). The Company has just provided basic detail on how the amounts paid to pilots were calculated. We are in the process of reviewing this information.
The wind down budget approved by the Bankruptcy Court allowed for payment of employee claims from the bondholder’s collateral where the Company’s directors and officers are personally liable for them. Spirit does not have directors’ and officers' liability insurance coverage. Because New Jersey’s law specifically allows for recovery against the individuals, the Company was allowed to pay amounts due to pilots under the New Jersey WARN Act. These payments were made through the direct deposit account on file at the time of termination. If you were Newark based at the time of the shutdown and did not receive a payment, please send a DART to contact the SPA Custodian Team.
Soft-Landing Opportunities
ABX Air continues to hire. They are adding 16 pilots per month for the 767 and Airbus 330 addition. The ABX recruitment brochure may be found here.
Atlas Air will be opening their application window soon and will prioritize Spirit Pilots in their new hire classes. Seventy-five percent of the open positions in each new hire class will be filled by furloughed Spirit Pilots. When additional information is received from Atlas, we will provide it to the group.
Visit spa.alpa.org for a full list of soft-landing opportunities for Spirit Pilots.
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