Spirit Airlines is celebrating 15 years of operations between Colombia and the United States after landing for the first time in 2008 and growing to become the largest U.S. ultra low cost carrier in Colombia. Spirit began service to Bogota and Cartagena 15 years ago, and has since added other destinations such as Armenia, Barranquilla, Cali, Medellin and Bucaramanga to its route network.
«Our guests in Colombia have truly embraced our low-fare, high-value model over the past 15 years, allowing us to offer even more options to travelers throughout the country and increase our service to seven Colombian cities,» said Ted Christie, President and CEO of Spirit Airlines.
Spirit’s first service in Colombia was the Fort Lauderdale – Cartagena route that began on May 8, 2008 with a schedule of daily flights operated on Airbus A319, then in July of that same year the low cost airline added Bogota to its network of destinations. According to data obtained by Aviacionline through Civil Aeronautics Statistics, Spirit Airlines in 2022 mobilized 1,080,265 passengers with an occupancy factor of 78%.
Escuela Mano Amiga de Zipaquirá, a non-profit organization that improves the lives of underprivileged children through education, received a $100,000 donation from Spirit Charitable Foundation as part of the airline’s 15th anniversary celebration in Bogotá. The Foundation continues to collaborate with the nonprofit and in 2019 contributed to the growth of the Mano Amiga School. The foundation also donated $15,000 to Club Deportivo Academia de Béisbol Hermanos Rentería in Cartagena earlier this year.
Spirit Airlines Schedule in Colombia
- Armenia – Fort Lauderdale: three flights a week.
- Barranquilla – Fort Lauderdale: daily flights.
- Bucaramanga – Fort Lauderdale: three flights a week.
- Bogota – Fort Lauderdale: daily flights.
- Bogota – Orlando: daily flights.
- Cali – Fort Lauderdale: daily flights.
- Cartagena – Fort Lauderdale: daily flights.
- Cartagena – Orlando: 2-3 flights per week.
- Medellin – Fort Lauderdale: 1-2 daily flights.
- Medellin – Orlando: daily flights.
The ultra low cost airline also offers members of its Free Spirit frequent flyer program 750 points on flights to and from Colombia. Travel must be booked by September 30 and flown by November 30.
Colombia has established itself as a fairly popular destination for travelers over the past four years, leading to about a 50% increase in the number of Spirit flights from Colombia compared to May 2019.
