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Spirit Airlines just announced an aggressive expansion into its third Texas city: Austin. In fact, they haven’t just announced new routes — tickets to and from Austin are already for sale!
Beginning Feb. 14, Spirit will ferry travelers nonstop between the Texas capital and eight destinations: Baltimore/Washington (BWI), Chicago (ORD), Denver (DEN), Detroit (DTW), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Las Vegas (LAS), New Orleans (MSY) and Orlando (MCO). The ninth route, between Austin and Los Angeles (LAX), launches May 2.
Austin has experienced exponential growth in recent years, and the region’s air traffic has exploded alongside it. The tech-friendly city has been courted by a number of carriers who recognize the potential for new or increased routes, with Norwegian Air adding nonstop flights to London and Delta building a new Sky Club that launches Spring 2019, along with adding additional routes.
Spirit no doubt feels the pressure to perform competitively in its new home. The ultra low-cost carrier typically offers just a couple of routes when expanding into new markets, so nine routes at once is an aberration from their typical expansion model. But Mark Kopczak, Spirit’s vice president of network planning, said, “We know Austin is ready for Spirit.” The routes are strategic, allowing Spirit to directly compete with Southwest, American, United, Frontier, Delta, JetBlue and Allegiant, all of which offer connecting service to Austin between the newly announced Spirit destinations.
The initial eight routes will begin service to and from Austin just weeks before South by Southwest, a massive music, film and tech festival that takes place each March. Spirit already operates out of Dallas (DFW) and Houston (IAH), and adding Austin to the Texas city line-up entrenches the budget carrier even more firmly into local awareness. Austin represents Spirit’s 70th destination in the growing network (ultra low-cost competitor, Frontier Airlines, now serves more than 100 destinations).
Spot pricing checks show that many of these new fares are pricing at $60 – $70 each way, making it a financially attractive option for families who can avoid most, if not all, of the added ancillary options. If you take advantage of Spirit Airline’s inexpensive fares out of Austin, here is some reading material to get you up to speed before flying the ultra low-cost carrier (tip: get the Big Front Seats).
Everything You Should Know Before Flying Spirit Airlines
Save Money By Booking Spirit Tickets at the Airport
Six Tips for Flying Spirit Airlines With a Family
Spirit Mastercard Doubles Bonus: Enough Miles for 12 One-Way Flights
How to Pack for a Spirit Carry-on Bag
Source: thepointsguy.com