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Impact on Route Competition
Shift in competition levels on flight routes post-Spirit shutdown.
Primary Sources
See the List of 17 Routes and 1 Airport Abandoned After Spirit Closed ...
By Taylor Rains You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. Latrobe Airport outside Pittsburgh was left without air service after Spirit's collapse. Justin Merriman/For The Washington Post via Getty Images 2026-05-13T20:02:01.252Z Data shows 17 nonstop flight routes lost all service after Spirit folded. One tiny airport outside Pittsburgh was completely abandoned. Roughly half of the now-empty routes Spirit left behind will be replaced by other budget airlines. Spirit Airlines' collapse left travelers without nonstop options on more than a dozen routes across the US and Latin America, but competitors are already moving to fill much of the gap. The now-defunct budget airline abruptly ceased flying in the early hours of May 2 after years of unrecoverable losses driven by rising labor and changing traveler habits, and then the recent surge in fuel prices.While Spirit held only about 1.7% of the US market share when it fell, per Cirium, its absence still matters. A Business Insider analysis using data from Cirium and Raymond James found that 17 routes and one airport were abandoned after Spirit's shutdown.Among the hardest hit were Atlantic City International Airport in New Jersey and Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles outside Pittsburgh.Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium shows Atlantic City lost roughly half its flights, with budget carriers Breeze and Allegiant still flying to the airport; the Pennsylvania airport lost all its airline service. In places like Atlantic City, where Spirit pressured fares, airlines facing less competition now will likely raise ticket prices."The number of routes with only one competitor have stepped up from eight to 63 (2% to 19% of total) while those with four or more stepped down from 203 to 52 (60% to 15% of total)," RJ analyst Savanthi Syth said in a note shared with Business Insider about the impact of Spirit's now-empty network.Here's the list of now-empty routes. Eight are expected to regain nonstop service this year.From Atlantic City:West Palm BeachOrlando (MCO)Myrtle BeachFort MyersFrom Fort Lauderdale:Armenia, ColombiaBarranquilla, ColombiaBelize CityCali, ColombiaKey WestLima, PeruSan AntonioSt. ThomasSt. CroixComayagua, HondurasFrom Latrobe:Myrtle BeachOrlando (MCO)From Orlando:Medellín, ColombiaThe tiny Labrobe airport was exclusively served by Spirit for 15 years and was even building a second gate to s...
See the list of 17 routes that lost all air service after Spirit ...
Latrobe Airport outside Pittsburgh was left without air service after Spirit’s collapse. Justin Merriman/For The Washington Post via Getty Images Spirit Airlines’ collapse left travelers without nonstop options on more than a dozen routes across the US and Latin America, but competitors are already moving to fill much of the gap. The now-defunct budget airline abruptly ceased flying in the early hours of May 2 after years of unrecoverable losses driven by rising labor and changing traveler habits, and then the recent surge in fuel prices. While Spirit held only about 1.7% of the US market share when it fell, per Cirium, its absence still matters. A Business Insider analysis using data from Cirium and Raymond James found that 17 routes and one airport were abandoned after Spirit’s shutdown. Among the hardest hit were Atlantic City International Airport in New Jersey and Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles outside Pittsburgh. Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium shows Atlantic City lost roughly half its flights, with budget carriers Breeze and Allegiant still flying to the airport; the Pennsylvania airport lost all its airline service. In places like Atlantic City, where Spirit pressured fares, airlines facing less competition now will likely raise ticket prices. “The number of routes with only one competitor have stepped up from eight to 63 (2% to 19% of total) while those with four or more stepped down from 203 to 52 (60% to 15% of total),” RJ analyst Savanthi Syth said in a note shared with Business Insider about the impact of Spirit’s now-empty network. Here’s the list of now-empty routes. Eight are expected to regain nonstop service this year. From Atlantic City: West Palm Beach Orlando (MCO) Myrtle Beach Fort Myers From Fort Lauderdale: Armenia, Colombia Barranquilla, Colombia Belize City Cali, Colombia Key West Lima, Peru San Antonio St. Thomas St. Croix Comayagua, Honduras From Latrobe: Myrtle Beach Orlando (MCO) From Orlando: Medellín, Colombia The tiny Labrobe airport was exclusively served by Spirit for 15 years and was even building a second gate to support growth before it was left vacant. Cirium shows the last time the airport had no airline service was in early 2011. Employees at Latrobe airport pack up after Spirit ceased operations. Justin Merriman/For The Washington Post via Getty Images Many abandoned Spirit routes will be rescued Roughly half of Spirit’s abandoned routes will not rem...
Spirit's shutdown leaves Latrobe airport without flights - MSN
Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, located in Unity Township near Latrobe, was served only by Spirit Airlines for its commercial passenger flights. When Spirit ceased operations on May 2, the airport ...
US airlines add flights on former Spirit routes - The Points Guy
Quick summary Multiple airlines have launched new flights and increased frequencies on routes previously served by Spirit Airlines after its shutdown in May. Major carriers are focusing on strengthening existing bases and hubs, especially at airports like Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Newark, Detroit and Atlanta.
