With Spirit Shutting Down, Breeze Airways and JetBlue Announce New Florida Routes

With yesterday’s news that Spirit Airlines would be ceasing operations effective immediately, thousands of travelers have been left scrambling to salvage their upcoming trips.

In a statement yesterday, Spirit announced that all upcoming flights would be automatically refunded. The airline will not, however, be able to help travelers book new flights.

Photo: Spirit

Previously, airlines such as Frontier Airlines and Delta Air Lines have begun stepping up to assist former Spirit customers. Now, two more airlines have announced new routes and increased flights.

Breeze Airways

If you are a Spirit customer who was planning to fly from the Northeast to Florida, Breeze Airways may have you covered.

Photo: Jacksonville Daily Record

Today, the discount carrier, which has carved out a niche providing service between underserved routes across the United States, announced that it will be offering more flights out of Atlantic City.

In the wake of Spirit’s closure, Breeze has added more flights to Orlando, Myrtle Beach, Fort Myers, and Palm Beach during peak travel seasons.

The new routes include:

• Orlando (MCO), increasing to seven weekly flights beginning July 3
• Myrtle Beach (MYR), two weekly flights beginning October 22
• Fort Myers (RSW), three weekly flights beginning October 22
• Palm Beach (PBI), three weekly flights beginning December 17

As Atlantic City was a major hub for Spirit Airlines, the new Breeze routes should help cover some of the former carrier’s service.

JetBlue

In addition to Breeze, JetBlue Airways has announced that it will be launching 11 new routes from Fort Lauderdale (FLL).

These include:

• Barranquilla (BAQ)
• Baltimore (BWI)
• Cali (CLO)
• Charlotte (CLT)
• Columbus (CMH)
• Indianapolis (IND)
• Nashville (BNA)
• Detroit (DTW)
• Chicago (ORD)
• Houston (IAH)
• Ponce (PSE)

As the travel industry continues to realign following Spirit’s closure, we should see additional routes announced in the coming weeks.

Photo: JetBlue

So, if you had an upcoming Spirit flight, keep your eyes open. You may have more options than previously anticipated.

Photo: MickeyBlog