Spirit Airlines launches in Milwaukee and announces new nonstop service from Mitchell International
Spirit Airlines said Thursday it plans to nearly triple the destinations it serves nonstop from Milwaukee as the carrier known for its bright yellow planes began service at Mitchell International Airport.
During ceremonies marking its inaugural service in Milwaukee on Thursday, Spirit announced new daily service this fall to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Phoenix, and Tampa, plus three weekly flights to Cancun, the airline’s first international route from Milwaukee.
“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 Florida-based Spirit.
Spirit is an ultra-low-fare carrier where passengers, starting from a base fare, pay as much or as little as they want for in-flight extras such as bags (checked and carry-on) or seat assignments on flights.
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The airline bills itself as "the leader in providing customizable travel options starting with an unbundled fare. This allows our guests to pay only for the options they choose — like bags, seat assignments and refreshments — something we call 'Á La Smarte,'" according to a company statement.
Spirit shares trade under stock ticker SAVE on the New York Stock Exchange. The airline employs more than 9,000 people and operates 159 aircraft.
All of Spirits planes are Airbus models A319, A320 or A321. The average age of its aircraft is 5.6 years.
Once the butt of jokes and derision in the airline industry, Spirit has dramatically improved its operations and customer service.
The Airline Quality Rating, an annual project produced by researchers at Wichita State University, has seen Spirit's ranking rise from 2015 when it was absolute last.
In the most recent Airline Quality Rating, issued May 21, Spirit ranked fifth in overall quality.
The Airline Quality Rating is a statistical analysis of the performance of major U.S. airlines. The academic research study has been conducted annually since 1991.
Industry-watchers have said Spirit is a legitimate contender in the airline business, which is highly competitive and has essentially been remade as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kirby said that Spirit has one of the newest fleets in the industry and has been named by Forbes as one of the top 100 companies in the U.S. for diversity of staff.
"That's something we're very proud of," Kirby said.
Kirby said initiating service in Milwaukee was originally supposed to begin last June.
“My experience is people in Wisconsin love to travel," Kirby said.
He also said the airline's low fare model is likely to drive fares down in the market and offer travelers a choice that will keep them flying out of Milwaukee rather than heading south to O'Hare International in Chicago.
"So we know that we can stimulate the market and we can keep people at Mitchell, rather than have them go to alternate airports,” Kirby said.
Spirit is the only airline flying nonstop between Milwaukee and Los Angeles International.
The additional service announced on Thursday is likely not the last for Spirit in Milwaukee, Kirby said.
“If we do well (in a market) — and our history shows we do well — we add more service," Kirby said. "So I think there’s a lot more opportunity to serve Milwaukee, not only with more frequency, but also more destinations.”
Since mid-May, Spirit has announced expanded additional flights as it launched service in St. Louis, Louisville and Manchester, New Hampshire.
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More competition to warm weather destinations
Major airlines are now battling each other for leisure travelers as business travel remains subdued in the COVID-19 pandemic's wake.
The new service will almost certainly lead to fierce competition on the routes in Milwaukee.
Florida is the number one passenger destination from Milwaukee Mitchell International.
All of the airlines serving the routes trace their origins to being startups and have no qualms about competing, especially on price.
On the Fort Lauderdale route, Spirit will be competing with Southwest.
"Fort Lauderdale is one of Spirit's largest gateway cities, which means nonstop flights from MKE come with easy connections throughout the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean," according to a statement from Mitchell International.
On the Tampa route, Spirit will be competing with Frontier and Southwest.
Fort Myers will be even more competitive, with Spirit, Southwest, Frontier and Sun Country (starting in December) all flying that route.
Same for Phoenix, where Spirit, American, Southwest and Sun Country (beginning Dec. 17) all will be flying that route.
Spirt will compete with Apple Vacations, Funjet Vacations and Sun Country (beginning Dec. 18) to Cancun.
Southwest is the market share leader in Milwaukee, flying just over half the passengers at the airport.
More airline seats at Mitchell
The first flights for Spirit as well as the announcement of new service add even more airline seats for passengers to choose from at Mitchell International. Since the beginning of the year, the airport has seen more than 25,000 new seats added to its offerings.
The airline industry tends to measure service in terms of available seats.
“When you think about where we were a year ago, it's hard to imagine that we would be introducing a new airline here at MKE, let alone one that’s expanding so quickly,” said Brian Dranzik, airport director at Mitchell, in a statement. “Spirit Airlines is now up to eight nonstop destinations from MKE, which provides Milwaukee travelers even more connections to where they want to go.”
MKE is the International Air Transport Association identifier for Mitchell International.
"The fact that Spirit is expanding so quickly is a great reflection of the bright future it signifies for our hometown Airport," said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, in a statement. "Spirit brings affordable fares to popular destinations which will make it easier for our Milwaukee travelers to connect with their friends and family this summer and beyond.”
Mitchell is owned and operated by Milwaukee County.
Contact Joe Taschler at (414) 224-2554 or jtaschler@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeTaschler or Facebook at facebook.com/joe.taschler.1. Contact Isabel Koyama at IKoyama@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ox_fur_comma.