September 14, 2012
Shares of Spirit Airlines fell 17 percent after the company forecast a fall in unit revenue for the third quarter.
Spirit Airlines said it expects total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) to be down 2.5 to 4.5 percent in the quarter, partly hurt by Hurricane Isaac.
The company had posted a 28.4 percent jump in TRASM, or unit revenue, in the third quarter last year as it had benefited from a federal excise tax holiday.
However, Raymond James said the company is seeing weakness in some booking channels, causing unit revenue to track lower than its 3 percent growth expectation.
"While Hurricane Isaac may have impacted bookings in late-August and early-September, there is some additional softness in traffic," the brokerage said.
