Spirit Airlines is coming to Wisconsin. The airline is adding three daily nonstop out of Milwaukee to California, Nevada, and Florida. The flights are slated to begin on June 24th and are a continuation of Spirit’s growth strategy. These flights are Spirit’s first forays into Wisconsin.
Spirit Airlines is coming to Milwaukee
Starting on June 24th, Spirit Airlines will launch flights from Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport (MKE) to Orlando International Airport (MCO), Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS), and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
John Kirby, Vice President of Network Planning at Spirit Airlines, stated the following:
“We’ve had our eye on Milwaukee for a long time, and we’re excited to bring our unique value proposition to the Brew City. It’s a win-win because our Badger State Guests will get to enjoy convenient nonstop service to popular destinations, and Spirit frequent fliers can experience Milwaukee’s great festivals and sports scene and enjoy fun outdoor activities just in time for summer.”
The new routes out of Milwaukee
Spirit Airlines will be the only airline flying nonstop between Los Angeles and Milwaukee. Los Angeles can be a great warm-weather tourist destination, and with a summer season ahead that appears to be a good one for airlines, it makes sense for Spirit to use its planes to fill in gaps in its network and connect new passengers.
Southwest and Frontier will compete against Spirit on flights to Las Vegas and Orlando out of Milwaukee. Southwest Airlines is the largest carrier out of Milwaukee. Spirit will extend the city’s low-cost portfolio and also offer some onward connections.
Filling in the gaps
Spirit Airlines is a well-known airline in the US, and it connects many cities with its low fares. The airline has spent the last few years expanding across the United States and into Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, mostly out of Fort Lauderdale.
Spirit has plenty of room for growth, and Milwaukee is one such example of cities that are ripe for new Spirit flights. There are plenty of others, ranging from St. Louis and Salt Lake City to San Antonio and Albany, among so many others.
With many airlines scaling back operations, this is an opportune time for Spirit to jump into a new route with the hope of taking on new loyal customers. Spirit has unveiled an all-new loyalty program that operates like a traditional frequent flier program but offers some insanely good perks for Spirit’s most loyal fliers.
Since the start of the crisis, Spirit has expanded service to several new destinations. This includes Orange County in California, Cap-Haitien in Haiti, and Barranquilla and Bucaramanga in Colombia.
More will come from Spirit
These flights are slated to run with Airbus A319 aircraft, which are the smallest jets in Spirit’s fleet. The Airbus A319s are slowly coming back, and Spirit is planning on hanging on to its 31 Airbus A319ceos for now. These planes coming back is a good sign. On Tuesday, Spirit announced it would be adding flights to Louisville, Kentucky, using mostly Airbus A319 jets.
Spirit Airlines had planned to bring these jets back if there was a demand case for bringing them back. If there were enough people who wanted to fly and room for Spirit to add flights, only then would Spirit bring the A319s back into service.
In addition to the A319s, Spirit expects to take 16 new Airbus A320neo aircraft this year while holding its other fleets stagnant. This means that Spirit will have excess aircraft that it can use to chart growth. Some flights previously operated with an Airbus A319 may get bumped up to an A320 or A320neo, freeing up some more A319s to serve additional routes.
As more A320neos enter Spirit’s fleet, expect the airline to continue to grow. The Airbus A320neo can make some routes and cities work with its excellent operating economics that Airbus A320ceos do not provide.
Are you excited to see Spirit Airlines come to Milwaukee? Will you fly any of these new routes? Let us know in the comments!