United Airlines Expands Routes Overlapping with Spirit Airlines Amid Restructuring

In response to Spirit Airlines’ recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and subsequent reduction of service, United Airlines has announced plans to increase its presence in several markets where the two airlines overlap. Starting January 6th, United will add flights to 15 cities, including Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Las Vegas – three of Spirit’s largest markets.

The expansion will include one additional daily roundtrip flight between Houston and six cities: Orlando, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Miami. United will also add more flights from Chicago O’Hare to Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, New Orleans, and Las Vegas. From Newark, United will increase service to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, and Los Angeles-Las Vegas will also see additional flights. The airline will also launch two new routes from Newark to Columbia, South Carolina and Chattanooga, Tennessee – markets that Spirit has confirmed it will exit in early October.

In addition to these domestic route expansions, United plans to add three new weekly flights from Houston to Guatemala City and San Salvador, as well as one new weekly flight from Houston to San Pedro Sula. The airline will also increase the frequency of flights between Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles, and will operate larger aircraft between Chicago and New York LaGuardia.

According to Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president of global network planning and alliances, these moves are a strategic response to Spirit’s shrinking network. He states, “If Spirit suddenly goes out of business, it will be incredibly disruptive, so we’re adding these flights to give their customers other options if they want or need them.

This opportunistic strategy by United is in contrast to Spirit’s current efforts to cut costs and reduce debt. The South Florida-based ULCC plans to continue operating during the restructuring process, but will scale back capacity, drop weaker markets, and defer aircraft deliveries. As reported by Aviation Week, Spirit has confirmed plans to exit 11 markets in October, including Albuquerque, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Columbia, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, San Diego, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Boise. The airline has also shelved its planned launch of a Fort Lauderdale to Macon route.

Data from OAG Schedules Analyzer shows that United and Spirit currently overlap on all 13 domestic routes where United is adding an extra daily frequency. Spirit operates 216 weekly flights on these routes, while United operates 409. With the addition of new flights, United will widen this frequency gap, especially in Florida and Las Vegas – two of Spirit’s strongest leisure markets. United’s winter offering will now include 45 daily flights to Orlando, 30 to Fort Lauderdale, and 43 to Las Vegas.

This expansion comes as United’s ULCC rival, Frontier Airlines, also increases service in Spirit’s core markets. Frontier has announced 20 new routes, including eight from Houston, six from Detroit, and six from Fort Lauderdale.