Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale International) has announced it will open a station at Miami International airport on October 6, 2021, gradually launching 30 new routes from the Floridan gateway without affecting capacity at its nearby Fort Lauderdale International base.
"We are the largest airline at FLL, and we intend to stay that way... The demand is there to support growth throughout South Florida. Our flying out of MIA is in support of continued expansion in the region," the carrier told Routes Online.
According to the ch-aviation schedules module, the ultra-low-cost-carrier will initially launch the following routes on October 6:
- Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson (daily),
- Atlantic City (daily),
- Baltimore International (daily),
- Bogotá (daily),
- Guatemala City (4x weekly),
- Medellín José Maria Córdova (daily),
- New York Newark (daily),
- Port au Prince (daily),
- San Salvador International (3x weekly), and
- Santo Domingo Las Américas (daily).
The base will be significantly expanded starting on November 17, when Spirit Airlines plans to add the following services to its nascent Miami network:
- Barranquilla;
- Chicago O'Hare;
- Cleveland Hopkins;
- Dallas/Fort Worth;
- Denver International;
- Detroit Metropolitan;
- Hartford Bradley;
- Houston Hobby;
- Las Vegas Harry Reid;
- Myrtle Beach International;
- New York La Guardia;
- Orlando International;
- Philadelphia International;
- Raleigh/Durham;
- San José Juan Santamaría;
- San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin;
- San Pedro Sula;
- St. Thomas Cyril E. King.
All of these routes will operate daily except for services to La Guardia (2x daily), San José (4x weekly), and St. Thomas (3x weekly).
Spirit Airlines will use a mix of A319-100s and A320-200s to operate its routes from Miami. The airline clarified in a statement to ch-aviation that it would not base any flight crews out of Miami.
The ULCC does not currently serve Miami but intends to become the second-largest operator at the airport, behind American Airlines, once its base is operational. It is already the largest carrier at Fort Lauderdale Int'l airport, where it has a 33.2% market share by scheduled departures, the ch-aviation capacities module indicates.
Editorial Comment: The article has been updated to reflect that Spirit Airlines does not plan to base any crews out of Miami. - 12Jul2021 - 21:01 UTC