Don't miss out! Join the thousands of people who subscribe to our once-daily email or our free miles and points Facebook group with all the best travel news. Points With a Crew has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Points With a Crew and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Spirit has been on a roll this year, and it’s only February! We’ve seen them add service to Hartford, CT (BDL) as well as add numerous routes to competitor’s fortress hubs.
Today, Spirit announced that they would begin service to Pittsburgh, PA (PIT), beginning in May.
New Spirit routes. Gray lines are seasonal, yellow lines are year round. Map courtesy of gcmap.com.
Routes are as follows:
- Starting May 25: Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX (DFW) – one daily
- Starting May 25: Myrtle Beach, SC (MYR) – one daily seasonal service
- Starting June 15: Ft. Lauderdale, FL (FLL) – three times weekly (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday)
- Starting June 22: Orlando, FL (MCO) – one daily
- Starting June 22: Las Vegas, NV (LAS) – one daily
- Starting July 13: Houston, TX (IAH) – one daily
- Starting July 13: Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – one daily
Low fares?
Doing a quick cursory search, I saw flights to FLL for as low as $55, flights to MCO as low at $78, and flights to Las Vegas for as low as $103. Remember, Spirit flights aren’t always what they seem, especially if you want to pack a bag (even a carry-on!), choose a seat, or have a snack.
LBE on the chopping block?
For a long time (well, since 2011), Spirit has flown out of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, PA (LBE). Latrobe’s airport is ~40 miles east of Pittsburgh, but is further away from Pittsburgh than Pittsburgh International Airport. While LBE is still loaded through the end of Spirit’s bookable schedule, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Spirit consolidate at PIT, seeing as the only unique routes to LBE are seasonal service to Tampa, FL (TPA) and Ft. Myers, FL (RSW).
Conclusion
Having more choice is always great, and hopefully it causes Southwest and American to match fares out of Pittsburgh. Just remember that your Spirit fare isn’t what it seems until the you’ve navigated the fee obstacle course.
Header image courtesy of Alan Wilson.
Points With a Crew has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Points With a Crew and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them
Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
.jpg){kind=link}
I am curious as well what will happen with LBE. I live between LBE and PIT but have never taken a Spirit flight. We go to Vegas frequently but they dropped the nonstops after a short stint at LBE. I am not a fan of the later flights either so we always do Southwest nonstops. Would have loved to have decent options out of LBE.
Doubt I’ll be taking the once a day Spirit out of PIT but maybe the additional flights will put some price pressure on Southwest (but I doubt it).