With Spirit Airlines officially out to pasture, the carrier’s surviving competitors are circling its former homebase hub in Florida.
Both JetBlue and Allegiant Air have announced service expansions at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, formerly the main hub and operations center of Spirit.
Earlier this month, JetBlue announced it would be expanding its schedule at the Florida airport and offering loyalty status match for eligible members of Spirit’s rewards program.
This week, JetBlue said it would be adding 11 new services routes in and out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL), while officially settling in as the airport’s new No. 1 tenant.
New service at FLL via JetBlue includes daily flights to Baltimore; Indianapolis; Columbus, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Cali and Barranquilla in Colombia. With this expansion, these cities will be serviced by JetBlue for the first time. The airline also added new service to and from Fort Lauderdale from cities it already serves: Nashville, Detroit, Houston and Chicago, as well as Ponce, Puerto Rico.
These new flights, as well as increased regularity on other JetBlue routes at FLL, represents 27 new flights at the airport, representing a major expansion at Spirit’s former home hub.
In corresponding moves, JetBlue confirmed to several outlets that it was eliminating service to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, as well as cutting flights going in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport. Beginning in July, JetBlue will discontinue Newark service to Aruba, Cancun, and Tampa, Florida, among others. JetBlue’s residency at Manchester-Boston will be discontinued entirely, less than two years after launching service there.
Ben Schlappig of One Mile at a Time suggested that JetBlue’s sudden interest in Fort Lauderdale signals the airline views the airport as an opportunity for a “proper hub,” although he noted that the airline’s retreat from Newark, where it previously had a strong presence, was a bit harder to explain. Currently, JetBlue has a partnership with United Airlines, which has a practical stranglehold on the commercial flight market there.
“Spirit had a fairly large presence at Newark, so not only has Spirit been eliminated as a competitor, but now JetBlue retreating makes this even more of a fortress hub for United, helping the carrier raise fares even more,” Schlappig wrote, but admitted that if the airline wanted to invest in Florida it would likely need to pull resources from somewhere else.
While JetBlue is cashing in on Spirit’s collapse, Allegiant Airlines is also making moves at Fort Lauderdale.
Fort Lauderdale is suddenly center of the universe
On Tuesday, Allegiant announced it was adding eight new nonstop routes in Florida, including to and from FLL.
Beginning this fall, Allegiant will offer flights to Boston, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Missouri; and Omaha, Nebraska, from Fort Lauderdale.
The budget airline is also adding new service from St. Pete-Clearwater International AIrport to Philadelphia and Columbia, Missouri. New service will also be added between Orlando, Florida and Trenton, New Jersey; as well as Punta Gorda, Florida, and La Crosse, Wisconsin.
“We’re excited to announce these new routes and believe it is an important time for Allegiant to increase travel options in these markets,” said Allegiant Chief Commercial Officer Drew Wells. “Our mission is to offer service where it is needed most, and these additions ensure that affordable fares can remain available to consumers despite industry changes.”
Sean Cudahy, an airline reporter for the Points Guy, said Allegiant’s expansion is a “clear signal that Allegiant is not willing to completely cede Fort Lauderdale to JetBlue.”
