Spirit Airlines is adding Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) to its network this fall, becoming the 11th new destination to be announced by the carrier in the past year.
The airport will also be the first point in the state of New Hampshire to be served by the airline.
Four routes are being launched, all of which will connect Manchester to sunshine destinations in Florida. The first two services start on Oct. 7, linking the New England city with Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Orlando (MCO). Both routes will operate daily.
Flights to Fort Myers (RSW) will launch on Nov. 17, with Spirit scheduling a 4X-weekly service, while a route to Tampa (TPA) begins a day later and will operate three times per week.
“We looked closely at what New Hampshire travelers want, and we saw a great opportunity to give them easy access to some great vacation destinations,” executive VP and CCO Matt Klein said.
MHT is located about 54 mi. (87 km) away from Boston Logan (BOS) in Massachusetts, a destination Spirit has served since 2006. However, the airline’s inaugural routes from Manchester will mark the first time the ULCC has served New Hampshire.
Data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows Miramar-based Spirit will face direct competition from Southwest Airlines on two of the four new routes. Southwest currently flies MHT-MCO nine times per week using a mix of Boeing 737-700s and 737 Max 8 aircraft, while two flights per week are offered to TPA on board 737-700s.
Sabre Market Intelligence figures reveal that Orlando was the second largest O&D market from Manchester in 2019 after Washington DC, with 151,970 two-way passengers. Tampa was the third largest with 112,545 passengers.
The launch of flights from MHT comes just a week after Spirit unveiled plans to start flights out of Miami (MIA) from October, offering routes to 18 domestic and 12 international destinations. The expansion will give the airline a presence at all three of South Florida’s major airports for the first time.
Photo credit: Spirit Airlines
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