Spirit Moves Closer to Miami Launch, Milwaukee Expansion

Spirit Airlines continues to expand to new cities like Milwaukee while its all-new Miami flights are ready for booking.

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Spirit Flights From Miami Ready For Booking

Spirit Airlines made waves on the South Florida coast by announcing its intention to serve Miami International Airport. The airport recently reduced costs for gates and access which encouraged Spirit’s Miami expansion as well as Southwest Airlines who is flying to the city for the first time shortly as well.

Both Spirit and Southwest had made Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport a low-fare kingpin just 20 miles north of the Capital of the Americas, Miami. Southwest didn’t expand in Miami with the same vigor as Spirit, adding flights from just four cities, all of which Southwest currently serves. Spirit is taking the battle directly to American Airlines with 30 routes and heavy frequency as they begin starting service in the coming weeks. Those flights have just gone on sale and here is a list of every flight added from MIA.

With first departures ranging from October 6th to November 17th, those flights are available for booking right now.

Spirit Expands in Milwaukee

In what’s becoming a habit, Spirit announced a few routes from a new city that went on sale months ahead of the first departure. Based on strong sales and, frankly, insatiable demand, Milwaukee travelers will have even more options on launch day.

John Kirby, Vice President of Network Planning made the following remarks about Spirit tripling departures out of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.

“We see a vibrant future full of new opportunities for travel here in the Badger State,” said John Kirby, Vice President of Network Planning for Spirit Airlines. “We’re excited to nearly triple our convenient, nonstop flights to exciting destinations. We can’t wait to take more Milwaukee Guests to ‘sun and sand’ destinations and bring travelers from all over to enjoy Wisconsin’s great festivals, sports scene and fun outdoor activities.”

Here are the new Spirit Milwaukee destinations, frequencies, and launch dates:

Incredible Growth

Coming out of COVID-19 shutdowns, Spirit has re-emerged as the pre-eminent player in the leisure market. Spirit Airlines’ destination list has added a dozen new gateways and expanded flights in nearly every market.

Many domestic carriers have grown in a temporary way, like United adding Florida nonstops from outstation markets, but those were seasonal (some have already been discontinued.) Further, when flag carriers need to pull back capacity from popular destinations to better utilize wide-body long-haul aircraft on international routes, even fewer will remain. This is a golden opportunity for low-cost carriers like Frontier Airlines and Spirit to retail meaningful growth and greater market share when airlines refocus their efforts elsewhere.

Spirit has taken 16 new A320 family aircraft so far this year and adds another 21 next year, all of which appear to be dedicated to growth. That’s good news for Spirit Airlines stock price which has performed well. I don’t currently hold Spirit stock, but I wish I had held onto it as the airline just keeps winning.

Conclusion

As Spirit’s Miami launch nears, I remain more impressed than when it was first announced. It’s a massive expansion on its own, but coupled with all of the increased frequencies, new stations, and route increases, the carrier is certainly growing rapidly. This is also a great sign for Milwaukee specifically (tickets are selling which also means growth for the city, jobs, and travelers) but also for new stations like it.

What do you think? Is there a route from either city that has your attention?