Growing Spirit Airlines now at 17 nonstop routes from Atlanta

Ben Mutzabaugh | USA TODAY

Spirit Airlines is expanding in Atlanta, adding two new routes that will give it nonstop service to 17 destinations from the world’s busiest airport.

Beginning April 14, Spirit will add flights from Atlanta to both Minneapolis/St. Paul and New Orleans. The carrier will fly one daily round-trip flight on each route.

"We are excited that Spirit Airlines will launch service to two new destinations from Atlanta," Miguel Southwell, General Manager of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, says in a statement. "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."

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Spirit’s flights to Minneapolis/St. Paul and New Orleans will give it 17 nonstop routes from Atlanta. Spirit’s other year-round or seasonal routes from Atlanta are: Atlantic City, N.J.; Baltimore/Washington; Boston; Chicago O’Hare; Cleveland; Dallas/Fort Worth; Detroit; Fort Lauderdale; Fort Myers, Fla.; Houston Bush Intercontinental; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Orlando; Philadelphia and Tampa.

Spirit will face significant competition on both of its new routes.

That’s especially true for flights between Atlanta and Minneapolis, where Spirit will become the third airline to offer either seasonal or year-round service between the cities. The most notable competitor, of course, is Delta Air Lines, which operates major hubs in both cities. Delta’s April schedule currently shows 11 daily round-trip flights between the cities. Southwest's April schedule shows three daily round-trips. Frontier had operated seasonal service on the route, but is not currently selling seats between the cities.

Delta also has been increasingly competitive against “ultra low-cost carriers” like Spirit, going so far as to roll out a separate, reduced-perks “Basic Economy” fare class aimed to battling bargain-basement fares offered by its no-frills rivals.

Spirit also will go head-to-head with Southwest and Frontier on the Atlanta-Minneapolis route.

On the Atlanta-New Orleans route, Spirit will face nonstop competition from Delta and Southwest. Delta’s April schedule shows 14 daily round-trip flights on that route while Southwest’s shows four.

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