ULCC Spirit To Launch Seven New Philadelphia Routes

Credit: Joe Pries

Florida-based ULCC Spirit Airlines will start seven new routes from Philadelphia (PHL) in the first half of 2022, including three Caribbean routes.

The carrier will operate daily flights between PHL and New Orleans (MSY) from Feb. 16. Two months later it will begin 4X-weekly service from PHL to Aguadilla (BQN), Puerto Rico, launching April 20.

From May 11, Spirit will start daily flights from PHL to both Houston Intercontinental (IAH) and Nashville (BNA). From May 18, the ULCC will commence service from Philadelphia to: Montego Bay (MBJ), Jamaica, to be operated 3X-weekly; Oakland (OAK), California, to be operated daily; and Punta Cana (PUJ), Dominican Republic, to be flown 4X-weekly.

Spirit is an all-Airbus A320 family operator.

The new routes will bring the number of destinations Spirit serves from PHL to 20. Spirit said it will also increase its existing PHL-Cancun (CUN), Mexico, service to daily from April 20.

Speaking about the new routes, PHL CEO Chellie Cameron said: “In addition to offering more options to popular vacation destinations, Spirit will be the only airline at PHL serving Oakland and Aguadilla nonstop. This is especially important for our passengers wanting to visit friends and relatives.”

Spirit executive VP and CCO Matt Klein added: “Philadelphia has been a great partner of Spirit Airlines for a long time [since 2013], and we’re thankful to the airport team for enabling this opportunity to add many more popular, nonstop destinations for our [passengers]. This expansion is particularly exciting because of the variety of destinations stretching from the Pacific Coast to popular spots in the southern US and three new options for Caribbean getaways.”

The BQN route will be operated from PHL for the first time. Spirit will be the first carrier to operate the PHL-OAK route since 2007.

While Spirit will continue to grow in 2022, the company’s executives have cautioned that the pace of growth next year will be slower than previously anticipated.

Aaron Karp

Aaron Karp is a Contributing Editor to the Aviation Week Network.