Starting in May, Spirit Airlines will add 37 routes to their existing network, expanding on last week’s news that the airline would add Chattanooga and Columbia to the cities they serve. The new routes are already available to book on Spirit’s website. “We continuously evaluate our network and seek new opportunities to provide convenient, nonstop service to our Guests at a great value. As part of this process, we are adding nearly 40 routes to our network starting this May. The new flights give our Guests more high-value options to discover new destinations and experience Spirit’s new travel options and enhanced Guest experience,” Spirit Airlines said in a statement shared with Travel + Leisure. Spirit will add nine new destinations from Nashville, including Baltimore/Washington International (BWI), Cleveland, Charlotte, Orlando, Milwaukee, Myrtle Beach, Chicago, San Antonio, and Tampa. Baltimore/Washington International will see new routes to Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago, Raleigh-Durham, San Antonio, and Charleston. Travelers from Dallas will have a new budget-friendly options to Indianapolis, Raleigh-Durham, and Louisville. Atlanta will also add a route to Louisville. Spirit customers in Charlotte will see new options to Detroit, Indianapolis, and Philadelphia and Columbus gets one new route to Newark. There are also new international routes, as New Orleans will get a flight to Comayagua International Airport in Honduras alongside a new route to Raleigh-Durham. North Carolinians also will receive a flight to Newark.<br/>
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Long-haul operator Norse Atlantic Airways has handed back all its three Boeing 787-8s to their lessors, to focus on its 787-9 fleet. The aircraft had originally been delivered to the Scandinavian carrier in 2022 and were dry-leased to Spanish operator Air Europa. Norse Atlantic adopted a revised business plan last year which involves simplifying its fleet structure to concentrate exclusively on its 12 787-9s. It states that it has completed the withdrawal of the 787-8s. All three – with serial numbers 35310, 35313 and 35314 – have Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. “Following the transaction, Norse Atlantic has a uniform, flexible and cost-efficient fleet,” it states, adding that the 787-8s had around four years’ lease length remaining. The carrier says it will record a “significant” accounting gain for the first quarter of this year, as a result of the transaction. Its 787-9s have remaining leases of seven to 14 years. The carrier’s new business strategy involves leasing out a number of these aircraft to balance seasonal traffic cycles.<br/>
Israeli operator Israir Group is intending to restore transatlantic connections, disclosing that it plans to resume US services using Airbus A330-200 twinjets. Israir is looking to serve the Tel Aviv-New York route, with initial flights from the beginning of July this year. The airline – which underwent an ownership change in early 2021 – currently operates an all-narrowbody fleet of Airbus A320s. Israir points out, a filing to the US government, that it had previously served US routes, commencing charter services in 2004. It subsequently introduced scheduled operations following approval in March 2006. But Israir states that it suspended the US services “due to market conditions”, before seeking to renew its authorisation in 2009. “Israir has decided to resume its US service,” it says in documentation to the US Department of Transportation. It plans to introduce six nonstop services per week, for the first year of operations, beginning 1 July. The airline says it will operate the flights with A330-200s although it has not indicated the source of the aircraft.<br/>