Spirit Airlines has revealed plans to fly its largest Orlando schedule yet. The airline will be adding new domestic and international flying as leisure customers come back in full force, and the airline sees a rebound in demand for short- and medium-haul international flying. Here is what the airline has in store.

New and resuming service at Orlando

From Orlando International Airport (MCO), Spirit Airlines has plenty of new services planned. It will be starting the following new services from Orlando:

  • Cancun (CUN) with daily flights effective immediately
  • Louisville (SDF) with daily flights effective immediately
  • Milwaukee (MKE) with daily flights effective immediately
  • Punta Cana (PUJ) with three flights per week effective immediately
  • Santo Domingo (SDQ) with four flights per week effective immediately
  • St. Louis (STL) with daily flights effective immediately
  • Manchester (MHT) with daily flights from October 7th
  • Miami (MIA) with daily flights from November 17th
Spirit New Routes
Spirit Airlines' new routes out of MCO. Rendering created at Great Circle Mapper

Milwaukee, Louisville, St. Louis, Manchester, and Miami are the newest points on the airline's domestic route map. Those destinations are mostly origination markets to bring passengers to Orlando to visit the area's resorts, theme parks, and more.

Resuming service at Orlando, targeting mostly international routes, is as follows:

  • Cartagena (CTG) with two to three flights per week from September 10th
  • Guatemala City (GUA) with four flights per week from September 9th
  • Montego Bay (MBJ) with three flights per week from September 9th
  • Port-au-Prince (PAP) with three flights per week from November 18th
  • San Salvador (SAL) with three flights per week from November 19th

Lastly, San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) will increase to daily service from November 17th.

The largest Orlando schedule yet

This is the largest schedule Spirit Airlines will be flying out of Orlando in its history. Altogether, the airline will offer 20 additional flights and 10 new destinations to passengers each day compared to 2019.

Once the new routes and resumptions are in effect, Spirit Airlines will have Orlando operations that are 45% larger than they were at the end of 2019. This is a massive increase for Spirit as the carrier plans to get to over 80 departures per day at MCO by the end of 2021.

Spirit A320neo
One of the reasons Spirit can expand significantly in 2021 is because it will take a total of 16 new A320neos this year. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

John Kirby, Spirit Airlines Vice President of Network Planning, stated the following on Orlando:

"Florida's Hometown Airline continues to invest at Orlando International Airport by offering daily flights to new domestic and international destinations. With over 80 flights each day to more than 50 cities, Spirit Airlines provides our Central Florida Guests even more nonstop options, including 16 popular vacation destinations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean."

Orlando is a major center for Spirit Airlines. Spirit Airlines opened its second Operations Control Center (OCC) in Orlando last month. This brought another 75 jobs to the city and joined an existing South Florida facility that also manages daily operations through Spirit's network. There is also an existing crew base and inflight training facility at MCO.

Spirit A321
Orlando is one of Spirit's most important markets. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Spirit's position in Orlando

Spirit Airlines will be the largest international airline and second-largest airline overall at MCO. Orlando is the kind of market where Spirit Airlines would do very well in. First and foremost, it is primarily a leisure-oriented city.

Customers who come to Orlando are generally going to head to Disney World, Universal Studios, or SeaWorld, among many other attractions. The city is also close to beaches and the Kennedy Space Center, an entirely different kind of experience than the theme parks.

Spirit Airbus A321
Several airports have shut down and thousands of flights are canceled. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Orlando also serves as an origination market for travelers. With a population of over 2.5 million people in the metro area, and more considering the surrounding catchment areas within an hour or so of Orlando, a lot of the international service is also targeted to Orlando-area residents, of which there is a large community of people with Caribbean heritage.

As an ultra-low-cost carrier, Spirit is focused on flying leisure passengers where they want to go. Florida is Spirit's largest market, by far, and with the airline's largest hub at Fort Lauderdale, the carrier continues to double down in the state and expand services. While the state has seen an influx of pandemic-era tourists, cities like Orlando have always been major tourist destinations. Spirit is preparing to tap into that for 2021 and beyond.

Are you going to fly Spirit to Orlando? Which of these new or returning services are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!