Spirit Airlines plans to move from Mesa to Sky Harbor.
Mesa airport officials disappointed but optimistic
Spirit Airlines on Tuesday announced plans to suspend service at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and take its business to Sky Harbor International Airport, a switch the air- line said would allow it to capitalize on passengers’ familiarity with the Phoenix hub.
Spirit — which joined Allegiant Air at Gateway fewer than two years ago and accounts for about 10 percent of business there — will conclude daily flights from Mesa to Dal- las on Oct. 23. The airline is in the process of reaching out to Gateway ticketholders who could be affected by the change.
A schedule released Tuesday indicated that flights from Phoenix to Dallas-Fort Worth
‘‘ As we grow in Phoenix, it is much better for us to fly to the airport that our customers know best — in this case, Sky Harbor.”
Spokeswoman, Spirit Airlines
International Airport will start Oct. 24, followed by seasonal flights to Chicago O’Hare and Denver international airports beginning Nov. 7.
Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson said Sky Harbor was a “much better-known airport in the large cities we serve,” while “Mesa is still relatively unknown.” The airline’s departure follows a short-lived stay by Frontier Airlines, which pulled out of Gateway in June.
“It’s definitely a disappointment to the airport board and staff,” said Gateway Executive Director Jane Morris. “But it’s just how the airport industry goes. Gateway came through for (Spirit) with load factors of up to 90-plus percent, and we allowed them a place to test the market. It did come as a surprise.”
Morris said Spirit shared the news with Gateway officials Thursday afternoon, and Gateway then alerted the six member communities that constitute the airport authority. Spirit’s official announcement came on the day the airport topped 5 million commercial-service passengers.
At the 5-million-mark celebration, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith and Queen Creek Mayor Gail Barney both stressed that Gateway is a collaborator with Sky Harbor, not a competitor.
“(Gateway) truly is fulfilling its mission as a complement ... to Phoenix Sky Harbor,” Smith said. “We look at these two as really being bookends to incredible develop- ment and incredible activity.”
Phoenix officials were thrilled by Spirit’s decision, which came only four weeks after Volaris, Mexico’s largest low-cost airline, announced it would begin non-stop service to Mexico City and Guadalajara from Sky Harbor in the fall.
“These additional flights are evidence that the city and the airport have weathered the tough economic times and are ready for growth,” Phoenix City Manager David Cavazos said.
Sky Harbor officials said their involvement in Spirit’s decision was minimal, in contrast to the move by Volaris, which city officials spent more than a year courting.
“Some time in the last couple of months, they asked us for some basic information,” Sky Harbor spokeswoman Deborah Ostreicher said.
Spirit inquired about rates and charges for operating at Sky Harbor and whether the airport had terminal space, she said.
Sky Harbor officials did not hear back from Spirit for a couple of months, until the airline on Thursday suddenly told them it intended to start service there, according to Ostreicher.
There were no actual negotiations or talks, and neither the Phoenix City Council nor Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton was involved, she said.
“We want (Spirit) to succeed,” Stanton said. “But I would never participate in offering any kind of incentive for a company to move from one location to another in the Valley. Phoenix-Mesa Gateway will be a huge success. Phoenix has as much interest as anyone in seeing Phoenix-Mesa Gateway be a huge success because we’re a huge investor in that airport.”
Spirit has not yet signed a lease with Sky Harbor, something that likely will take place in the next few weeks. The airline will have to coordinate with Phoenix airport officials on logistics, but its operations will be in Terminal 3.
Spirit stressed that it hadn’t had any specific problems working with Gateway, saying the decision simply resulted from continuous review of “the performance of all of our routes, along with the potential to grow from each city to more places.”
“As we grow in Phoenix, it is much better for us to fly to the airport that our customers know best — in this case, Sky Harbor,” spokeswoman Pinson said in an e-mail.
While Gateway officials acknowledged the gravity of the hit, airport spokesman Brian Sexton pointed out that losing Allegiant would have been a bigger blow.
“With Allegiant to Spirit, it’s 31cities to one,” he said, calling Allegiant an industry leader. “Allegiant is reinstating ticket sales to Telluride (Colo.), and they’ve indicated they’re planning to continue to expand at Gateway.”
Sexton said Spirit’s departure “creates additional opportunities in the terminal to attract another carrier, and we’re hopeful and excited about what lies ahead.”
Spirit flights from Phoenix to Dallas-Fort Worth will depart Phoenix at1a.m. and leave Dallas at 11:15 p.m., according to the new schedule.
Flights to Chicago will depart Phoenix daily at 1:50 a.m. and leave Chicago at 8:50 p.m. Flights to Denver will depart Phoenix at 1:15 p.m. and leave Denver at 4 p.m.
Flights to both Chicago O’Hare and Denver will run through April 30.