Spirit Airlines unveils new flights between Florida and Colombia
Budget carrier Spirit Airlines today announced new nonstop routes between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and two Colombia cities.
The discount airline will add Bucaramanga and Barranquilla, both in the northern part of the South American nation, flights to and from Fort Lauderdale starting in April.
Spirit first flew to Colombia in May 2008 between Fort Lauderdale and Cartagena. Additional Colombia destinations have since been added to Spirit's route map, and the airline claims with the latest additions that it will serve more cities in Colombia with nonstop flights from the U.S. than any other airline: 10 routes between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida, to seven Colombian cities. Bogota, Medellin, Armenia and Cali round out the Colombia destinations with existing service.
"Colombia is considered home to many in Florida, and it is also a destination that has gained so much interest in the past years from the leisure traveler," Ted Christie, Spirit president and CEO, said in a news release announcing the routes.
The Bucaramanga-Fort Lauderdale nonstop flights begin April 22 and will operate daily Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The Barranquilla-Fort Lauderdale flights start April 23 and will operate Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
The routes are available to book now.
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Spirit is a pioneer of the airline a la carte model, offering bargain fares that come with nothing more than a seat (but not an assigned seat) on the plane and space for a small personal item. Carry-on bags, checked bags, soft drinks and snacks and boarding passes printed at the airport are all extra.
The discount carrier with the bright yellow planes has turned its operations around in the past couple years and has been rapidly expanding.
Spirit, like other discount carriers, is quick to pull a route if it doesn't perform, moving the planes to routes where it sees better opportunities.
Contributing: Dawn Gilbertson
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Spirit Airlines announces new Colombia, Fort Lauderdale flights
