Spirit Airlines Continuing Caribbean Expansion in St Croix
Spirit Airlines is continuing its rapid growth push in the Caribbean with plans for new daily nonstop flights to the island of St Croix.
The low-cost carrier has revealed plans to launch daily nonstop flight service from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in St Croix, beginning April 22.
That means an additional four flights each week from Fort Lauderdale to St Croix; Spirit is currently operating three flights to St Croix every week, with service on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
It’s another significant boost for St Croix, the USVI’s largest island and a destination that just launched a brand-new tourism identity.
The move by Spirit Airlines comes as St Croix will soon see newly-expanded daily service on American Airlines from Miami, also beginning in June.
The new airlift to St Croix is well-timed for the relaunch of two of the island’s major hotels: the Divi Carina Bay and Marriott’s Renaissance St Croix Carambola, both of which are reopening ahead of the next winter season.
Spirit, which is developing a major new headquarters near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport, has been steadily building up its Caribbean flight network out of the area.
“Florida is very important to Spirit Airlines, and we are going to keep growing in the state we call home,” said John Kirby, Vice President of Network Planning for Spirit, in a statement. “As the only major airline headquartered in the Sunshine State, Spirit Airlines continues to add new destinations and more non-stop service to meet the needs of Florida’s growing economy.”
Spirit Airlines’ Caribbean growth, which has also included a large expansion push in Orlando, means the carrier has actually eclipsed JetBlue in the number of available seats to the wider Caribbean region, according to the company.
Indeed, Spirit now serves 28 destinations in the Latin America-Caribbean region.
— CJ