Spirit Airlines is expanding from Newark Liberty (EWR), increasing the carrier’s footprint at the New Jersey airport to 17 destinations across the US.
The ULCC intends to begin flights to Indianapolis (IND), Oakland (OAK) and Pittsburgh (PIT), alongside to the recently confirmed Los Angeles (LAX) service. All four will be served daily.
In addition, Spirit plans to run a temporary route to Louisville (SDF) during the Kentucky Derby. Two SDF flights will operate on May 5 and May 8.
Spirit began flying to Newark in October 2016—its second in the New York area alongside LaGuardia (LGA). The latest network additions mean ULCC will offer 24 departures on peak days at EWR, doubling in size compared to 2019.
“As our domestic travel options continue to grow, we are excited to have Spirit expand its service routes,” said James Gill, general manager of New Jersey Airports.
“This helps keep Newark Liberty competitive as it provides business and leisure travelers with additional choices and greater flexibility in planning their trips.”
Earlier this month it emerged that Spirit will begin flying between Newark and Los Angeles on May 5 using Airbus A320neos.
The airline already serves the New York-Los Angeles market with a Saturday-only LGA-LAX service, while the new EWR-LAX route will provide direct competition with Alaska Airlines, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines.
Spirit service to both Indianapolis and Pittsburgh will begin on June 22. The carrier will become the second operator to connect EWR and IND alongside United, which currently provides 31X-weekly flights. United also flies between EWR and PIT up to 7X-daily.
The final of the four new routes being launched will open on Aug. 10 linking EWR and Oakland. The carrier will become the sole operator of flights between the airports.
At 4,099 km (2,547 mi.), the transcontinental EWR-OAK route will become the second farthest in Spirit’s network behind Fort Lauderdale (FLL)-Lima (LIM). The EWR-LAX service will also be its fourth farthest at 3,962 km (2,462 mi.) behind Philadelphia (PHL)-Oakland in third.
During the summer 2022 season, OAG data shows that Spirit will be the fourth largest carrier at Newark by capacity, offering 5.19% of all departure seats from the airport. United commands a 66.2% share, JetBlue 6.9%, and American Airlines 5.23%.
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