South Florida-based, low-fare carrier Spirit Airlines has chosen T.F. Green
Airport to serve its New England market beginning Oct. 28.
Spirit will offer four daily nonstop services from T.F. Green; one flight to Detroit, two to Fort Lauderdale and one to Fort Myers with connecting service to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Juan, Puerto Rico and Cancun, Mexico.
Spirit’s introductory fares booked by Sept. 6 for travel between Oct. 28 and Dec. 15 (excluding Nov. 23 to 29) start at $88 round-trip.
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The airline expressed interest in offering flights out of Rhode Island earlier this month and made the official announcement at a press conference at the airport on Aug. 19.
Spirit officials studied airports in New England – including Manchester Airport in New Hampshire and Logan International Airport in Boston – before deciding on Green.
“We did an extensive study of candidates and we liked this airport the best. The government leaders have done a wonderful job with getting transportation to and from the airport and in keeping airport costs down for carriers,” said Spirit President and CEO Jacob M. Schorr. “For a low-fare carrier, keeping airport costs down is critical, and they have managed to do that here.”
Schorr said Green was also chosen because the Rhode Island Airport Corporation is planning to extend the runway to allow long-haul flights.
“It was a factor in our decision. We probably would have chosen the airport even without the runway plan, but it definitely was a factor,” Schorr said.
RIAC spokeswoman Patti Goldstein said plans for a longer runway and the proposed Warwick Intermodal Station were instrumental in Spirit’s decision.
“Air service is a difficult business. It is the chief operating component of any airport. We don’t sell the airport as it is, we have to sell it for what it will be in the future,” Goldstein said. “Spirit was concerned about the future of the airport and also the business that will likely take their air service in this market.”
Spirit is the airport’s third low-fare carrier. Independence Air began service last week and Southwest Airlines started operating out of the airport in 1996.
“RIAC is identifying itself with low-cost providers. That is very important for us to do because low-fare is the successful model being executed at airports across the country. It’s so important for us to be taking these steps,” said Rick Reed, director of administrative operations for the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. “Expansion of the runway is the last piece of the puzzle to ensure (Green’s) future.”
The National Business Travel Association’s June 2004 midyear survey of 265 corporate travel managers – many of whom work with Fortune 1,000 clients – show that 86 percent use low-fare carriers to some degree. That number is double the result of a 2000 survey, said NBTA spokesman Caleb Tiller.
“We have seen an increase in corporate use of low-fare carriers. It isn’t shifting that way entirely, but as those airlines become more available and corporate travel managers look to get the most for their clients’ money, we see more corporate use,” Tiller said.
Though Spirit is servicing New England through Green alone, Independence Air also operates out of Manchester Airport and Logan, and Southwest also serves Manchester.
More airlines and more choices could draw consumers to Green, but the airport is also choosy with carriers, Goldstein said.
“(Our goal) isn’t to get as many low-fare carriers at the airport as we can. We look at the destinations they offer and the flights. We want to offer nonstop flights with competitive fares,” she said.
Spirit currently serves 16 markets in the United States, the Caribbean, and Mexico with 120 daily flight departures and plans to double their service over the next five years – a familiar goal in the exploding low-fare market.
Spirit, the largest privately held airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, started out in 1980 as Charter One, a Detroit-based charter tour operator. Ten years later, Charter One began scheduled service from Boston and Providence to Atlantic City. In May 1992, Charter One brought jet equipment into the fleet, changed its name to Spirit Airlines and inaugurated service from Detroit to Atlantic City.
Unlike most carriers in the low-fare market, Spirit offers two classes of seating, coach and “Spirit Plus,” which has wider seats and light snacks and refreshments.
Oaktree Capital Management invested $125 million in Spirit Airlines in February, allowing the carrier to expand its service and replace its fleet of 32 MD-80 aircraft with up to 95 Airbus A320 family of aircraft at a cost of $2 billion, Schorr said.
