Spirit Airlines is going on a shopping spree, and it apparently doesn't care about the tariff on purchasing some items made in Europe.
The Florida-based carrier announced Thursday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus to purchase 100 new Airbus A320neo Family aircraft, with an option to buy 50 more, and planned for delivery through 2027.
This is despite the 10 percent tariff imposed by the Trump administration on some of the planes that France-based Airbus sells to U.S. carriers, part of a trade disagreement over aircraft subsidies.
"This new order represents another milestone for Spirit," Spirit Airlines' President and CEO Ted Christie said in a statement. "The additional aircraft will be used to support Spirit's growth as we add new destinations and expand our network across the U.S, Latin America and the Caribbean. We look forward to working with our valued partners at Airbus to finalize our agreement."
Spirit has one of the youngest fleets of any U.S. airline, with an average aircraft age of 5.6 years. Spirit currently operates 138 Airbus A320-family aircraft and has seven Airbus A320neo aircraft scheduled for delivery from Mobile, Ala., by year-end 2019, bringing its fleet count to 145.
In 2020 and 2021, Spirit anticipates taking delivery of 48 A320neo aircraft.
"The Airbus A320 Family has been a strong platform for the remarkable success of Spirit over the past several years," said Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer. "The continuing confidence in the A320 expressed by the airline certainly lifts our spirits, and we look forward to being a part of the Spirit team's continued growth for many, many years to come."
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