As it faces stiff competition from other low-cost carriers for space at the country’s mainland airports, Spirit Airlines (SAVE) has been making a concerted effort to reach customers going to tropical destinations.
In the last year, it has significantly expanded its service to Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Mexico as well as certain parts of Florida popular with Spring Breakers and snowbirds.
Related: This is why you won’t be able to get a low-cost flight to Tulum anytime soon
While Spirit was preparing to launch new flights to Tulum alongside other airlines when its brand-new airports opened to international carriers later in the spring, those plans ended up getting derailed when Pratt & Whitney issued a recall of the engines used in the Airbus A321neo (EADSF) planes that it had slated for the route.
Puerto Rico is a popular destination for both airlines and cruise ship companies.
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These are the new sun-filled routes Spirit plans to launch in May
With plans for the Tulum route now delayed indefinitely, Spirit announced new routes to another sunny destination from two mainland cities — flights to Puerto Rico’s San Juan from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) in New Orleans will start running on May 8 and 9.
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The two latest routes will bring Spirit’s Puerto Rico service to 12 airports across the mainland U.S. and over 20 flights to the U.S. island territory overall. Along with the capital of San Juan, Spirit also flies to popular Puerto Rico resort destinations such as Aguadilla and Ponce.
“Our commitment to Puerto Rico stretches more than two decades, and it’s exciting for us to celebrate today with an expansion that grows our SJU service to the largest it’s ever been,” Spirit’s SVP and Chief Marketing Officer Bobby Schroeter said in a May 2023 statement when the airline added another spate of Puerto Rico flights. “We’re so thankful to the Puerto Rican community for embracing us, and we’re grateful for our incredible Spirit Family members in San Juan, Aguadilla and Ponce, and our valued airport partners.”
Along with the new Puerto Rico routes, Spirit is also launching a number of flights from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). New routes to the city from Boston, Pittsburgh, New Orleans and San Diego will all launch at around the same time period of May 8 and 9.
Amid financial problems, Spirit is trying different things
Another route that Spirit is planning to launch is a new nonstop flight between New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) that will launch on May 8 and run daily.
Some of these flights are entirely new routes while others are “resumptions” that the airline ran at different times over the years but ended up cutting for other flights due to lower demand.
Spirit has, over the last few years, faced significant turmoil after a series of unprofitable quarters and a federal judge’s block of JetBlue Airways’ (JBLU) attempt to acquire it. With several financial experts speculating about a future bankruptcy and liquidation, the airline has been trying different things to reach new customers and stand out from competitors in undertapped markets to survive as a small airline without the acquisition.
