US ULCC Spirit Airlines said it will open its 10th crew base at Houston Intercontinental (IAH), citing the Texas airport’s “strategic location.”

The airline this summer opened crew bases in Atlanta (ATL) and Miami (MIA). The IAH base will have around 150 pilots and 300 flight attendants by this autumn, with additional crew and support staff expected to follow later.

The base will “support the many exciting new destinations coming soon to Spirit's route map,” Spirit said in a statement, noting it will take delivery of a combined 57 new aircraft in 2022 and 2023. Those aircraft will allow for growth, the airline added.

Spirit is an all-Airbus A320 family operator.

“Houston is perfectly suited for a new crew base because of its strategic location within Spirit's network, and it will complement Spirit's diverse mix of domestic and international flight activity out of IAH,” the airline said.

Spirit currently operates to 16 domestic and six international destinations from IAH. It will add a seventh international destination, Monterrey (MTY) in Mexico, in the fall.

In addition to ATL, MIA and its primary base in Fort Lauderdale (FLL) in Florida, Spirit has crew bases in Atlantic City (ACY) in New Jersey, Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Detroit (DTW), Las Vegas (LAS) and Orlando (MCO).

United Airlines operates a hub at IAH.