By RIO YAMAT, Associated PressSpirit Airlines plans to furlough 1,800 flight attendants before the end of the year, the cash-strapped budget carrier said Monday. The company said it made the “difficult decision” to put cabin crew members on temporary leave to match staffing needs with expected flight demand during Spirit’s second bankruptcy in a year. The union that represents the airline’s flight attendants said Monday that Spirit would seek candidates willing to take six month or one year voluntary furloughs starting Nov. 1 before moving forward with involuntary furloughs based on seniority effective Dec. 1. The Association of Flight Attendants said it was working to secure “preferential interviews” with other airlines for furloughed flight attendants. But buyout attempts from budget rivals like JetBlue and Frontier were unsuccessful both before and during Spirt’s first bankruptcy process.