Ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) Spirit Airlines is preparing to increase capacity to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the city’s annual International Balloon Fiesta next month. The airline will add new daily flights from Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles.
The service will begin at the beginning of October and run through the middle of the month. Spirit does not currently serve the routes; it only has regular scheduled service between Albuquerque and Las Vegas.
A new offering
According to Aeroroutes, the ULCC will begin the new service on October 2nd. Flights between Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ), and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will be once daily through October 15th.
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
Spirit will utilize its Airbus A321neos on the DFW-ABQ sector. While the aircraft type will also be deployed between LAX and ABQ, the A320 will be scheduled on select dates on the route.
Competition with American
Spirit will go head-to-head with Fort Worth, Texas-based
American Airlines
, which dominates the DFW-ABQ route. According to aviation data and analytics provider Cirium, the carrier has a total of 431 flights scheduled and will use four aircraft types. The A320 is scheduled on eight flights, while the A321 will handle 65 frequencies. The Boeing 737-800 will remarkably handle the overwhelming majority – 292 flights, and the Embraer E175 will be deployed on 66 flights operated by American’s wholly-owned regional subsidiary Envoy Air.
A total of 28 flights will be offered by Spirit – 14 in each direction. The airline’s A321neos accommodate 235 passengers in a single class configuration. The first two rows of seats are arranged in a 2-2 format, known as Big Front Seats. The remaining 227 seats are in a 3-3 layout. The Big Front Seats offer up to 11 inches of additional legroom and are part of the Go Big travel fare when booking. In total, Spirit will offer 6,580 seats between DFW and ABQ next month.
The Los Angeles sector
The LAX-ABQ route is much more popular, with three airlines regularly flying between the two destinations. Unlike DFW, American will only utilize regional aircraft on the route across a total of 170 frequencies. SkyWest Airlines will deploy the Bombardier CRJ-700 and Embraer E175 under the American Eagle brand. The CRJ-700 will operate 67 flights, while the E175 will handle the remaining 103 frequencies.
Delta Air Lines
will also offer 170 flights between LAX and ABQ next month. In addition, they will be operated by SkyWest’s E175s under the Delta Connection brand. There will be 85 flights in each direction. Southwest Airlines has 94 flights scheduled on the route using its 737-700s, -800s, and MAX 8s.
Interested in this route? Find flights between Albuquerque and Los Angeles right here!
28 flights will be operated by Spirit, but not all will be handled by the A321neo. The airline’s A320 will handle four flights, two in each direction. The aircraft has 182 seats, with four designated as Big Front Seats. Spirit will offer slightly fewer seats than its DFW-ABQ operation. The carrier has 3,184 seats scheduled in each direction, offering a total of 6,368 seats.
Photo: Spirit Airlines
According to its website, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta creates an enchanted world of special shapeballoon rodeos, twilight balloon glows, and vibrant balloon-filled skies. The festival runs from October 5th to 13th.