USA: Spirit Airlines Announces Minneapolis & New Orleans Routes

American low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines announced it will begin flights to Minneapolis/St. Paul (Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport – MSP) and New Orleans (Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport – MSY) from Atlanta.

With the addition of the new routes, Spirit Airlines will serve 17 cities from Atlanta.

Spirit Airlines already flies to Atlantic City, Baltimore/Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers (seasonally), Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Tampa.

Spirit Airlines will become the third airline to operate flights between Atlanta and New Orleans as both Delta and Southwest already fly this route. Last year, Delta held approximately 68-76% of the market share while Southwest held around 25% with close to around 800 passengers per day between the two cities.

Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines will become the fourth airline to operate flights between Atlanta and Minneapolis/St. Paul behind Delta, Southwest, and Frontier Airlines, who operates seasonal flights.

There are about 1,000 passengers per day on average that fly between the two cities, according to the U.S. DOT Domestic Airfare Consumer report. Delta hold about around 70-72% of the market share while Southwest has typically held close to 20%.

“We are extremely excited to announce we’re expanding our low-fare nonstop service from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL),” said Mark Kopczak, Spirit Airlines’ Vice President of Network Planning.

“Spirit’s super low Bare Fares, with Frill Control allow customers to choose only those extras they want to pay for and gives them the most control over their travel budget. By saving on air travel, our customers will have more money left over for when they get to their destination.”

“We are excited that Spirit Airlines will launch service to two new destinations from Atlanta,” said Miguel Southwell, General Manager of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. “Additional nonstop routes from Atlanta are not only good for business, but they also give our customers more choices and greater access. I have no doubt that customers will greatly appreciate the new service.”

Since launching flights in February 2006 to Atlanta, Spirit Airlines has increased its presence quite a bit; the airline launched a major expansion over the summer by adding nine new destinations from Atlanta. According to U.S. DOT data, Spirit flew 431 flights in July of this year with 88.73% load factor, and it flew 466 flights in August with a 78.27% load factor.