Spirit Airlines to add new routes from San Juan, a $12M impact
Spirit Airlines is marking 20 years in Puerto Rico with the launch of five new, nonstop routes from the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU), growing its service from 11 destinations to 16 by June.
The expansion adds flights to Atlanta (ATL), Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), Detroit (DTW) and Hartford (BDL).
Puerto Rico Tourism Co. Executive Director Carlos Mercado said the carrier will be offering as many as 21 flights on peak days, that will result in an economic impact of nearly $12 million and 213,304 additional seats for travel to the island during 2023.
“The expansion announced today by Spirit represents growth of more than 200% for the airline over the past four years,” he said.
The carrier also announced it will increase flights between San Juan (SJU) and Orlando (MCO) to five flights daily and grow flights between San Juan and Baltimore (BWI), Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Newark (EWR) to two flights daily.
“The announcement of these new routes and more flight frequencies by Spirit is the result of a lot of effort and represents a greater offer for our passengers. Meanwhile, the opening of the new routes also provides more strategic connection opportunities between San Juan and other destinations around the United States,” said Jorge Hernández, CEO of Aerostar Airport Holdings, which operates Muñoz Marín International Airport.
With this expansion, Spirit becomes Puerto Rico’s second-largest carrier by destinations, seats, and available seat miles.
“Spirit Airlines has served the Puerto Rican community for more than two decades, offering affordable fares to connect family and friends across the United States. Puerto Rico is our number one destination in the Caribbean, with its rich history and culture, renowned beaches, tropical rainforest, and the world’s brightest bioluminescent bay,” said John Kirby, vice president of Network Planning at Spirit Airlines.
“We continue our San Juan growth with five new nonstop routes, reaffirming our commitment to the island and making it even easier to travel more often,” he said.
The announcement comes about two weeks after competitor Frontier Airlines announced the addition of nonstop routes to Puerto Rico from seven U.S. cities and Cancun starting in May, making it the island’s leading airline in number of available flights, as News is my Business reported.
