Spirit Airlines to add 7 destinations from Pittsburgh International Airport
It plans to continue flights from Latrobe
Spirit Airlines is touching down in a big way at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Starting this spring and summer, the ultra low-fare carrier will start flights to seven destinations — Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Myrtle Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Las Vegas and Houston — from the Findlay airport.
A daily flight to Dallas FortWorth and a seasonal one to Myrtle Beach will start May 25; Fort Lauderdale flights, with service three days a week, will start June 15; a daily Orlando and a daily Las Vegas flight on June 22; and a daily Los Angeles and a daily Houston flight July 13.
Spirit's arrival at Pittsburgh International marks a major expansion for the airline in Western Pennsylvania. It currently flies to five destinations from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, including Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Myrtle Beach, complementing new ones at Pittsburgh International about 63 miles away, according to Mark Kopczak, Spirit Airlines vice
president of network planning.
No change in destination for Spirit’s flights from Latrobe are planned.
“We saw an opportunity for our product here,” Mr. Kopczak said.
The Los Angeles service will fill a void left by American Airlines, which discontinued its flight to that city last week. Southwest is the only other airline to serve LA from Pittsburgh.
None of the flights being announced by Spirit are new destinations, It will be competing against other airlines to all of the markets, including four others to Orlando and two others to Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas and Houston.
Like other ultra low fare airlines, Spirit charges extra fees for things such as checked bags, all but the smallest carry-ons, seat assignments reserved in advance and extra legroom.
Landing Spirit is another coup for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates Pittsburgh International, and its CEO Christina Cassotis.
Since arriving two years ago, Ms. Cassotis has brought in a number of new carriers, including Frontier, Porter, OneJet, Wow Air and Condor. The latter two will start service to Iceland and Frankfurt, Germany, respectively, in June.
In the last two years, the number of nonstop destinations from the airport has grown to 68 from 37, according to Ms. Cassotis. “Our success has been swift,” she said.
Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, said he doesn’t expect the new service in Pittsburgh to have any impact on Spirit’s operations at the Arnold Palmer airport.
“The more the merrier. I think it complements Latrobe. I think it will be a great thing for everyone,” he said.