United Seeks To Lure Spirit Customers With New and Expanded Routes

Bad news for Spirit Airlines customers means good news for United Airlines flyers.

United announced on September 4 that it would increase service to several cities, such as Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO), and Las Vegas (LAS). Additionally, the airline will add new routes to several U.S. cities and Central America.

“If Spirit suddenly goes out of business, it will be incredibly disruptive, so we’re adding these flights to give their customers other options if they want or need them,” said Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president of global network planning and alliances.

Let’s take a closer look.

Anticipating Spirit’s Collapse, United Adds New Flights

United Airlines has expanded its winter schedule and added flights to 15 cities in the U.S. and Central America. The flights are all scheduled to begin on January 6, 2025.

The airline will add 1 additional daily flight between the following routes:

• Between Houston (IAH) and Atlanta (ATL), Baltimore (BWI), Las Vegas (LAS), Miami (MIA), New Orleans (MSY), and Orlando (MCO)
• Between Chicago (ORD) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Las Vegas (LAS), New Orleans (MSY), Orlando (MCO) 
• Between Newark (EWR) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Orlando (MCO) 
• Between Los Angeles (LAX) and Las Vegas (LAS)

United also plans to add 2 new routes from Newark, heading to Columbia, South Carolina (CAE), and Chattanooga, Tennessee (CHA).

The airline will also boost international flights, with 3x weekly flights from Houston (IAH) to Guatemala City (GUA) and San Salvador (SAL). Finally, United will add a weekly flight between Houston and San Pedro Sula, Honduras (SPR).

United says it will fly larger jets between Chicago and New York-LaGuardia (LGA) to help passengers outside of the airline’s hub cities connect to these new flights.

It’s clear to see why United is mobilizing so quickly.

Last week, Spirit Airlines entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — again. This comes less than 6 months after it emerged from its most recent restructuring. Dave Davis, president and chief executive officer at Spirit, said the airline would retool its network to focus on key markets.

“We have evaluated every corner of our business and are proceeding with a comprehensive approach in which we will be far more strategic about our fleet, markets and opportunities in order to best serve our Guests, Team Members and other stakeholders,” Davis said last week.

We quickly learned what that would look like. On September 3, Spirit announced plans to cut service to 11 cities nationwide. Some of these cities — like Chattanooga and Columbia — are cities United will fly to early next year.

Still, Spirit isn’t going down without a fight. The airline has responded to Quayle’s comments with a statement of its own.

While we appreciate the obsession certain airline executives have with us, we’re focused on competing and running a great operation. Suggesting anything else is wishful thinking on the part of a high-cost airline looking to eliminate a low-cost competitor so they can fulfill their ultimate goal of charging American travelers the highest fares possible to visit the people and places they love. Spirit is responsible for making low fares available to consumers for more than 30 years, whether they fly with us or not. We have every expectation to continue doing so for many years to come.

Duncan Dee, senior vice president of corporate communications at Spirit

Final Thoughts

United Airlines is being proactive in case Spirit Airlines suddenly shutters. The airline is adding new flights and increasing frequencies on existing routes throughout its hub cities in the U.S., which is good news for United flyers and (possibly) former Spirit customers.