Twin Cities travelers heading to the East Coast cities of Philadelphia and Boston will have another airline to choose from, at least for the summer.
Spirit Airlines will offer daily nonstop service to Philadelphia from April 14 to Nov. 9 and to Boston from April 28 to Sept. 7.
The news follows the low-cost airline's recent announcement of new service between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Atlanta, the world headquarters of Delta Air Lines and the dominate carrier at MSP. Service to Atlanta begins on April. 14.
"Spirit Airlines' steady growth at MSP – including these two new East Coast destinations - affirms the region's appetite for low-cost air travel services" said Jeff Hamiel, executive director/CEO of the Metropolitan Airports Commission. "We're pleased Spirit has found MSP to be an airport where it can prosper, while providing low-cost airfares to the traveling public."
With the new additions, Spirit will operate nonstop service from the Twin Cities to 16 airports, including Baltimore/Washington D.C., Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Phoenix, and Tampa/St. Petersburg.
Spirit's move comes as it attracting more cost-conscious travelers. From January to November 2015, the airline flew 924,036 passengers into and out of MSP, according to airport records. That is up from 905,208 during the same time period in 2014.
The airline's "Bare Fare" includes a seat and allows travelers to bring one personal item such as a small backpack or purse on board. Fees starting at around $35 are charged for larger bags - carry on and checked - along with snacks and beverages and even to print a boarding pass at the airport.
