Spirit is offering double pay to flight attendants amid the ‘perfect storm’ that’s led to hundreds of flight cancellations

• Spirit Airlines is offering double time pay for flight attendants willing to work extra shifts.
• Spirit cancelled and delayed hundreds of flights this week, but the airline says the end is in sight.
• The budget airline blames bad weather, staffing shortages, and system outages for the chaos.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Spirit Airlines is offering double-time pay for flight attendants who work extra shifts during a chaotic week marked by hundreds of flight cancellations, Spirit Airlines CEO Ted Christie said in an interview with Good Morning America.

“It’s been a terrible week for us, our guests, all the team members working super hard trying to get us back to where we want to be,” Christie said.

-Good Morning America (@GMA) August 6, 2021

Earlier in the week, Spirit cancelled more than half of its scheduled flights, which the airline blamed on weather, system outages and staffing shortages. The budget airline has cancelled roughly 1,800 flights since Sunday, according to CNBC.

Christie said there will continue to be cancellations for Spirit in the next few days, but the end is in sight as the airline starts to reboot its network.

“We’re starting to turn the tide here and get our operation back and that starts with building the airline back, making it as reliable as we want it to be,” Christie said. “But it’s going to take some time to build back that confidence and earn that trust again.”

American Airlines cancelled 378 flights as of Wednesday. and has told 3,300 flight attendants to return from voluntary leave to meet the increased demand for air travel, according to CNBC. American also plans on hiring 800 new flight attendants by March, 2022.