Spirit Airlines announced a new service in Puerto Rico, which includes landing at Mercedita International Airport (PSE), serving Ponce, joining existing services to San Juan (SJU) and Aguadilla (BQN).
The ultra-low-cost carrier will have direct service to PSE from Orlando (MCO) beginning February 16, 2022. Spirit has a large base of operations at this Florida airport, considered the doorway to Walt Disney World, where it offers 38 destinations with about 70 flights each day.
Ponce will have the options of connecting, through Spirit in Orlando, to Atlanta (ATL), Baltimore (BWI), Cleveland (CLE), Columbus (CMH), Detroit (DTW), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Hartford-Bradley (BDL), Houston (IAH), Minneapolis (MSP), Nashville (BNA), New Orleans (MSY), Pensacola (PNS), Philadelphia (PHL) and Pittsburgh (PIT).
«Adding Ponce as our third market in Puerto Rico is a great way to celebrate Spirit’s 20 years of serving the island», said John Kirby, Spirit’s Vice President of Network Planning.
«Our new nonstop flights to Orlando provide connectivity to many great value options to or from Ponce, in addition to also serving Central Florida’s dynamic and growing Puerto Rican community», he added.
Spirit first flew to Puerto Rico in 2001, when it inaugurated service to San Juan. The airline expanded its service to Aguadilla in 2007.
San Juan currently has flights to Atlantic City (ACY), Baltimore (BWI), Boston (BOS), Philadelphia (PHL), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Miami (MIA), Newark (EWR), New York/La Guardia (LGA), Orlando (MCO) and Tampa (TPA). From Aguadilla, there are flights to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
According to data obtained by Aviacionline through Cirium, Spirit is ranked as the company with the second-largest seat offer in Puerto Rico, with an average of 180,000 seats per month.
«Our island continues to promote its great potential with the announcement of this new nonstop flight between Orlando and Ponce, a route that will increase the availability for our people and also for those who visit us», said Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi.
«The economic development of Ponce and the southern region is a priority for my administration, and we will continue to pursue partnerships that are beneficial to our economy, such as this one. I thank Spirit Airlines and John Kirby for trusting in Puerto Rico and for being key players in the expansion of the flight offerings to our island,» he continued.