Spirit Airlines Ends Remaining Service To Frontier Airlines’ Denver Base

Aaron Karp January 12, 2024

spirit airlines jets — Credit: Joe Pries Aviation

U.S. ULCC Spirit Airlines ended service at Denver International Airport (DEN) this week, pulling out of Frontier Airlines’ base market.

Fellow ULCC Frontier attempted to acquire Spirit in 2022 to create a large ULCC that would have been the fifth-biggest airline in the U.S., but JetBlue Airways moved in to offer a higher bid. JetBlue and Spirit are now awaiting a ruling by a U.S. federal judge on whether their proposed combination is compliant with U.S. antitrust laws.

Spirit operated its last flights from DEN on Jan. 9. The airline cited ongoing issues with Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan (GTF) engines affecting its fleet and the under-performance of DEN routes when it decided in November 2023 to leave the Denver market in early 2024. Spirit is the largest operator of GTF-powered Airbus A320neo-family aircraft in the U.S., and has been struggling through aircraft groundings for mandated inspections. John Kirby, Spirit vice president for network planning, told the 2023 TakeOff North America conference in Atlantic City that Spirit “lovingly refers” to the parked A320neos as “gliders.”

Spirit had already been winding down operations at DEN, according to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser. Until suspending flights at DEN, Spirit had been serving Las Vegas Reid International Airport (LAS) 14X-weekly. It also served two Florida cities daily: its Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) base and Miami International Airport (MIA).

But Spirit served seven markets from DEN in the 2023 summer, according to OAG data, including Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Houston Intercontinental, Los Angeles and Orlando. It also operated to seven markets from DEN in the 2022 winter, with Detroit as part of the lineup instead of DFW.

The three remaining Spirit DEN routes dropped this week—FLL, LAS and MIA—will continue to be served by other carriers. According to OAG data, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines serve FLL, LAS and MIA from DEN. American Airlines also flies to MIA from DEN.

Frontier continues to serve LAS 32X-weekly and MIA daily from DEN.