Spirit Will Discontinue Service at This Major Airport in 2024
The low-cost carrier has served the airport for more than a decade.
Spirit Airlines is calling it quits out of Denver — an airport the low-cost carrier has served for more than a decade.
On Jan. 9, 2024, Spirit will cease operations out of Denver International Airport, where it currently flies to Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, and beyond, airline data site Cirium confirmed to Travel + Leisure on Tuesday.
"Spirit has already reduced their schedule compared to last year at Denver, down about 30% on flights compared to last year,” an airline industry analyst and spokesman Cirium, shared with T+L. “Denver is a very competitive market — a fortress for United, followed by Southwest Airlines.
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According to Cirium, the airline faced competition from Frontier which "alone has more than 15 times the number flights scheduled for Q4 2023 compared to Spirit.”
As Spirit looks toward the holiday travel period, the carrier will operate 160 fewer flights from Denver in the final quarter than it did last year — before ending service altogether in the new year.
The route cuts come after Spirit reported a $157.6-million net income loss in its Q3 earnings report at the end of October. Ted Christie, the airline’s President and CEO, stated in the company's earnings call that “[Spirit is] prepared to make the necessary strategic shifts to enable Spirit to compete effectively in this new demand backdrop,” suggesting that these route adjustments are a result of weakened travel demand to and from Denver.
Additionally, Spirit faces an uncertain year ahead as it hopes to make up for this quarter’s loss and is in court seeking approval for the JetBlue merger. In March 2024, the carrier will launch new leisure routes to Tulum from Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, but are “subject to government approval.”
A representative from Spirit did not immediately respond to T+L's request for comment.
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