Spirit Airlines Flying To Haiti And The Caribbean

Haiti Needed A Low Cost Airline And Spirit Airline Came To Our Rescue

Spirit's daily service departs Fort Lauderdale at 9:45 am and arrives in Port-au-Prince, Haiti at 11:45 am. The return flight leaves Port-au-Prince at 12:45 pm and arrives in Fort Lauderdale at 2:48 pm.

Spirit Airlines, Inc. is the largest Ultra Low Cost Carrier (ULCC) in the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Haiti. Its all-Airbus fleet, the youngest in the Americas, flies more than 150 daily flights to 40 destinations. The company is based in Miramar, Florida.

The low-cost carrier isn't the first to resume service to Haiti. In mid-February, American Airlines was the first commercial airline to fly there.

Spirit Airlines is based in Miramar, Fla., and operates 185 flights daily to 36 cities including Aruba, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Cancun, Chicago, Detroit, Fort Myers, Guatemala City, Las Vegas, Lima, Los Angeles, Managua, Montego Bay, Myrtle Beach, Nassau, New York, Orlando, Port-au-Prince, San Jose, San Salvador, Santo Domingo, Tampa, Washington D.C. and. during the winter only, West Palm Beach.

Spirit Airlines pledged to provide up to $10 million USD¹ to Yéle for relief efforts in Haiti.

“We commend Wyclef Jean and the humanitarian programs that Yéle has achieved since its founding, including their efforts during this terrible tragedy,” says Spirit Airlines CEO and President Ben Baldanza. “We stand ready to assist in bringing the sustainable relief so desperately needed to Haiti, including providing up to $10 million USD to Yéle.”

Spirit will give $75 USD to Yéle, A Haitian organization, for every qualified person who applies for and uses a Free Spirit MasterCard, up to $10 million USD. Simply visit www.spiritair.com/yele for complete details.

Spirit Airlines was founded in 1980 in Macomb County, Michigan, as Charter One, a Detroit-based charter tour operator providing travel packages to entertainment destinations such as Atlantic City, Las Vegas and the Bahamas. In 1990, Charter One began scheduled service from Boston and Providence, R.I., to Atlantic City.

On May 29, 1992, Charter One brought jet equipment into the fleet, changed its name to Spirit Airlines and inaugurated service from Detroit to Atlantic City.
In April 1993, Spirit Airlines began scheduled service to destinations in Florida. During the next five years, Spirit expanded rapidly, increasing service from Detroit and adding service in new markets such as Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Los Angeles and New York.

Spirit relocated its headquarters in November 1999, moving from Eastpointe, Michigan, to Miramar, Florida. Prior to the decision to move the headquarters to Miramar, Spirit considered Atlantic City, New Jersey and Detroit, Michigan. Expansion continued with the addition of the Chicago market as well as coast-to-coast service to Los Angeles.

In November 2001, Spirit inaugurated service to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and implemented a fully integrated Spanish-language customer service plan including a website and dedicated reservation line.

Haiti needed a low cost airline because at the time all the major airlines that fly to port-au-Prince, Haiti were charging lots of money.

On June 24, 2002, Spirit launched Spirit Vacations in conjunction with GOGO Worldwide Vacations. The service offers air, hotel, and activities similar to many other vacations sites. The service is offered to many destinations in the United States and several of the most popular in the Caribbean and Latin America. The vacation brand is now operated solely by the Mark Travel Corporation.

In 2002, Spirit started new service to Denver, Colo., and Las Vegas, Nevada, and expanded service to many of its existing markets. The airline has since discontinued service to Denver.

In the Fall of 2003, Spirit resumed flights to Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport, which had been suspended after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and began service to Cancún, Mexico.

In 2004, the airline added Santo Domingo and Providence to its network. In 2005, Spirit Airlines launched its biggest expansion effort yet, adding numerous destinations in the Caribbean and Bahamas. By February 2006, Spirit’s portfolio of destinations in the region totaled ten. Spirit also began service to Grand Cayman, San Francisco, and Boston in 2006, and in 2007 filed DOT applications to offer service to Costa Rica, Haiti, the Netherlands Antilles, and Venezuela.

On March 6, 2007, Spirit announced their transition to become the first ultra-low-cost carrier in the United States. Their initial plan is to begin charging US$10 per checked bag for the first two bags ($5 if bags are pre-reserved online prior to the flight), in addition to charging $1 for drinks which were previously complimentary.
 

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