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America’s budget carriers are ushering in 2025 with a wave of route additions and changes.
Dozens of new routes and destinations are set to begin, as ULCCs strengthen their foothold in the U.S. and beyond.
Avelo, Breeze, Frontier, Spirit, and Allegiant all plan significant additions to connect more cities. Notably, Spirit’s significant expansion comes amid its ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring. Here’s a comprehensive look at the latest developments driving this expansion surge.
Avelo Airlines: 13 New Routes, International Push
Avelo Airlines starts off the list, announcing 13 new routes and three new cities, including Nassau, Bahamas—its fourth international destination alongside Jamaica, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. The carrier begins service to Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport on 11 June.
New routes include:
- Wilmington (NC) International Airport (ILM): Flights to Detroit (DTW) begin on 12 June, Houston Hobby (HOU) and Washington Dulles (IAD) start on 13 June, and Long Island MacArthur (ISP) launches on 12 June—all twice weekly. Avelo now serves 15 destinations from ILM.
- Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU): Nassau (NAS) starts 11 June, Grand Rapids (GRR) begins 23 May, and Wilmington (ILG) launches 22 May, all twice weekly. RDU connects to 10 destinations.
- Lakeland (FL) Linder International Airport (LAL): Grand Rapids (GRR) begins on 13 June, and Long Island (ISP) starts on 12 June, both twice weekly. LAL links to nine cities.
- Charlotte/Concord Padgett Regional Airport (USA): Detroit (DTW) launches on 13 June, Washington Dulles (IAD) starts on 23 May, and Long Island (ISP) begins on 22 May, all twice weekly. Avelo serves 11 destinations from Concord.
- Wilmington (DE) Airport (ILG): Jacksonville (JAX) begins on 23 May twice weekly, bringing Avelo’s total destinations from ILG to 14.
It’s not all good news for Avelo, though. The carrier cut ILG-USA and ILG-ATL on 27 February and will end BDL-ILM and BDL-USA by 30 March. With its focus on Tweed-New Haven (HVN) 50 miles to the south, and Breeze Airways’ focus on Providence (PVD), one has to wonder if Avelo’s push into Hartford was a wise decision.
Since its debut on 28 April 2021, Avelo has grown to serve 56 destinations. The carrier operates a fleet of 20 Boeing 737s (eight -700s and 12 -800s).
Breeze Airways: Key West Becomes 70th Destination
Breeze Airways unveiled its 70th destination, Key West (EYW), on 11 March. Flights from Orlando (MCO) and Tampa (TPA) commence on 12 June, operating four times weekly on the Airbus A220-300.
The 240-mile EYW-TPA route marks Breeze’s shortest. Key West joins Rochester (ROC), Albany (ALB), and Memphis (MEM) as the airline’s fourth new city of 2025, bringing its Florida total to 10 and overall destinations to 33 since early 2024.
Breeze also launches twice weekly flights from Greensboro (GSO) to Hartford (BDL) and Orlando (MCO) starting 6 June. Launched in May 2021, Breeze serves 70 cities with 34 A220-300s and 12 Embraer ERJ-190s. However, the latter type is slated for phase-out next month.
Frontier Airlines: West Coast and Caribbean Additions
Seattle’s Paine Field International Airport (PAE) is Frontier’s newest city.
The carrier will launch thrice-weekly flights from Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS), and Phoenix (PHX) to PAE on 2 June. The carrier already serves DEN, LAS, and PHX from just down the street at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). In addition to those cities, Frontier operates flights to Dallas (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX), and Ontario (ONT) from SEA.
Paine Field has enjoyed commercial service since March 2019. Frontier will be the second carrier at the airport, which is approximately 40 miles north of SEA. United axed PAE during the coronavirus pandemic, never to return.
Additionally, Frontier begins service to San Pedro Sula, Honduras (SAP) from Atlanta (ATL), starting on 12 June. and revived Aruba (AUA) from ATL after a multi-year break. ATL expands further with new routes to Columbus (CMH), Fort Myers (RSW), Jacksonville (JAX), Kansas City (MCI), Oklahoma City (OKC), St. Louis (STL), and West Palm Beach (PBI).
Fresh Out of Bankruptcy, Spirit Announces Over 20 New Routes, Also Axes Five Cities
Spirit Airlines rolled out a significant expansion last week, adding over 20 new and returning routes. Flights begin in May, even as the carrier navigates a questionable post-bankruptcy journey.
Spirit filed for bankruptcy in late 2024. At the time, the company said it would be a quick restructuring. And that proved to be accurate, as the carrier announced the completion of its financial restructuring on Wednesday 12 March.
Presumably, the carrier aims to boost profitability and axe unprofitable routes while targeting high-demand markets.
Highlights include:
- Raleigh-Durham (RDU): Baltimore (BWI), Detroit (DTW), Newark (EWR), New Orleans (MSY), and Dallas (DFW) begin May 8-9, ranging from twice to five times weekly.
- Indianapolis (IND): Los Angeles (LAX), Dallas (DFW), and Charlotte (CLT) launch on 8-9 May, all twice weekly.
- Nashville (BNA): Milwaukee (MKE), Kansas City (MCI), San Antonio (SAT), Chicago (ORD), Baltimore (BWI), Myrtle Beach (MYR), and Cleveland (CLE) start 8-9 May, mostly twice weekly.
- Detroit (DTW): San Antonio (SAT), Memphis (MEM), and Charlotte (CLT) begin 8-9 May, up to four times weekly.
- Baltimore (BWI): Chicago (ORD) and Charlotte (CLT) launch on 8 May, up to four times weekly.
- New York LaGuardia (LGA): Richmond (RIC) and Norfolk (ORF) begin on 7-8 May, four times weekly.
Additional route additions include Philadelphia (PHL) to Charlotte (CLT), Latrobe (LBE) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL), and Los Angeles (LAX) to Milwaukee (MKE).
Earlier this month, Spirit added Columbia, SC (CAE), and Chattanooga, TN (CHA), with flights to Newark (EWR), Orlando (MCO), and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) from 4-5 June. Meanwhile, it will drop five cities—Aguadilla, Puerto Rico (BQN), Ponce, Puerto Rico (PSE), Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (PVR), Los Cabos, Mexico (SJD), and Manchester, NH (MHT)—to sharpen its focus.
Spirit Announces Dismal 2024 Financials
With Spirit out of bankruptcy, it’s hard to imagine a future where it could remain an independent carrier. While bankruptcy allowed the carrier to convert nearly $800 million in debt into equity, its 2024 financial results were bleak–to say the least. The company also “received a $350 million equity investment from existing investors to support Spirit’s future initiatives,” company officials said.
The Dania Beach, Fla.-based carrier posted an operating revenue of $4.9 billion in 2024. Coupled with an operating loss of $1.1 billion, this led to a staggering negative operating margin of 22.5 percent.
We won’t be surprised if Spirit continues to announce route cuts and additions as they attempt to find their footing–independently or not–post-Chapter 11.
Allegiant Air: Scaling Back LAX, Adding Elsewhere
For Allegiant, the news this week was the opposite of expansion.
Allegiant Air is eliminating its Los Angeles (LAX) base, canceling routes to Billings, Mont. (BIL), Des Moines, Iowa (DSM), Kalispell, Mont. (FCA), Laredo, Texas (LRD), Medford, Ore. (MFR), Memphis (MEM), Pasco, Wash. (PSC), Rapid City, S.D. (RAP), and Rockford, Ill. (RFD).
Still, the Las Vegas-based airline continues to ride the coattails of its November 2024 announcement of 44 new nonstop routes and three new cities. Unveiled just days after Spirit’s bankruptcy filing, this move marks Allegiant’s most significant expansion in its 28-year history.
ULCCs Connect the Dots in the American Aviation System
From Avelo’s international ventures to Breeze’s Florida focus, Frontier’s western and Caribbean push, Spirit’s bankruptcy-fueled recalibration, and Allegiant’s strategic shifts, ULCCs are reshaping options for traveling Americans.
It will be interesting to revisit this story in a year to see what routes have survived. Conversely, it will also be interesting to see how these carriers continue to further connect the dots in the American aviation network. With their focus on historically underserved communities, the significance of ULCCs in the United States cannot be understated.
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