Spirit Airlines To Add New Route From San Antonio To Tampa

Ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines has added a new route from San Antonio, Texas. The airline will connect the city with Tampa, Florida, from next year, adding to its list of other routes out of the Texan airport.

San Antonio to Tampa flight

Spirit Airlines will begin a new service out of San Antonio International Airport, with flights to Tampa, Florida, commencing on January 11, 2024. The airline’s new service is well-timed and will give passengers more options to visit the beach destination in the winter months. Jesus Saenz, director of airports, San Antonio Airport System (SAAS), commented,

“We know our travelers will use this new service to Tampa, “Once Spirit sees that, the goal is to expand it to daily service that’s offered year-round. Their presence in our market is giving families even more options and opportunities to take that vacation they might have been putting off. The competitive fares are also attracting people across the United States to check out San Antonio.”

Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock

Spirit will not be the only airline to serve this route. It will face competition from another low-cost carrier, Southwest Airlines, which flies daily between the two destinations. In November alone, Southwest has 75 return flights between the two cities, offering more than 11,000 seats.

Spirit’s network out of San Antonio

The Tampa service will be added to the list of six other destinations of Spirit Airlines out of San Antonio Airport. Currently, the carrier connects the city with five destinations: Baltimore, Maryland; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Los Angeles, California; and Orlando, Florida.

From April 5, Spirit will also add a new service between San Antonio and Newark, adding another connection to the New York City metro area.

Pulling out of Denver

While Spirit hopes to cash in on the demand for these new services, not all of its routes have proved profitable. The airline recently announced that it will stop operating out of Denver International Airport (DEN) in a couple of months due to sub-par interest from passengers on its routes out of the airport. It explained,

“As we continue to learn more about how Pratt & Whitney’s GTF engine availability impacts our fleet and operations, we’re forced to make some tough choices. After considering those constraints and the underperformance of our routes through Denver International Airport (DEN), we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue service at the airport, effective Jan. 9, 2024.”

Photo: Spirit Airlines

Hopefully, the ULCC will have better luck with the San Antonio-Tampa flights that will begin just a couple of days after the Denver services end.

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