Spirit Airlines expands again, adds new route to US Virgin Islands

Spirit Airlines will add St. Croix to its route map, a move that will further expand the carrier’s footprint in the Caribbean. Spirit will fly to the island from its base in Fort Lauderdale. Service will begin May 24 with three flights a week. The route is the latest in a recent growth spurt for the company. Domestically, Spirit will begin flying from Columbus, Ohio, and Richmond, Va., by March. Internationally, new routes to Ecuador and Haiti will launch this spring. St. Croix will become Spirit’s 65th destination overall and its second in the US Virgin Islands. The ultra low-cost carrier already flies to St. Thomas, which it also serves from Fort Lauderdale. Beyond the new route to St. Croix, Spirit also said it is restoring service to Caribbean destinations that were hard hit by hurricanes in 2017. Spirit said it was continuing efforts “to rebuild to its full historic Caribbean scheduled service levels.” Starting March 10, the airline said its schedules will return “to pre-storm, daily service” for St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and for San Juan and Aguadilla in Puerto Rico. Spirit said it intends to resume Saturday-only service to St. Maarten on May 5. <br/>