Major U.S. airlines have axed numerous flight routes in and out of Florida.
Discount carriers Frontier, JetBlue, and Spirit Airlines have all announced closures of routes flying to and from Florida, one of the most popular vacation states in the country and a deeply saturated market in the airline industry. The news comes as the major airlines report issues with passenger numbers and profits.
Frontier Airlines is shifting its focus from popular destinations like Orlando, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada, cutting its routes by one third, according to a report by Reuters. Frontier's fare revenue per passenger fell 22 percent in 2023 compared to 2022. Newsweek has contacted Frontier for clarification via email outside of normal working hours.
CEO Barry Biffle admitted the airline has been struggling due to widening competition in the Sunshine State. Off the back of Frontier's fare revenue falling by 22 percent in 2023, he said: "What happened last year in Florida was the equivalent of Costco, Sam's Club, Walmart, and Target all opening up on the same block."
Similar financial issues have been reported by JetBlue. After a failed attempt to merge with Spirit Airlines, JetBlue has announced it will be canceling flights from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to a variety of domestic destinations, namely Atlanta, Austin, Kansas City, Nashville, New Orleans, and Salt Lake City. Other routes on the chopping block include Fort Lauderdale to South American destinations Bogota, Quito, and Lima.
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In March, the two airlines called off a $3.8 billion merger after a federal judge earlier this year blocked a deal over anti-competition concerns, ruling that it would likely raise air fares for consumers across the country. JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty told employees in an internal note seen by Reuters: "With the ruling from the federal court and the Department of Justice's continued opposition, the probability of getting the green light to move forward with the merger anytime soon is extremely low."
However, JetBlue did recently announce it will increase services between Fort Lauderdale and popular international destinations for American holidaymakers, including Cancun, Montego Bay and Punta Cana. Earlier this year, the airline introduced a new route between Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee International Airport.
The top brass at Spirit Airlines has remarked on the saturated market in Florida, with the airline looking to shift its attention to other destinations. According to a report by The Points Guy, the average airfare in Orlando fell 16 percent on 15 percent more seats in 2023's third quarter, compared to the same period in 2022. Average fares for Spirit—not including ancillary fees such as baggage—dropped 27 percent in the same period.
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"We're going to have to start moving some things around," said Spirit's chief commercial officer Matt Klein. "Part of it is operationally driven, and part of it is also commercially driven where we think there may be better opportunities to match up supply and demand."
It comes as the airline opens new routes from San Diego International Airport in California, with non-stop flights to Baltimore, Houston, Portland, Sacramento and Salt Lake City soon to begin, according to a report by NBC San Diego.
"We don't want to promise guests a great on-time performance when they continuously have to deal with the operational issues we're seeing to and from Florida," Klein said, according to a report by Aviation Week. "Our guests want to go to Florida—but, if we can't operate properly, then we're going to have to rethink the network. If our costs go up because we can't operate the way we want to, we're going to have to start moving things around."
Newsweek has contacted JetBlue and Spirit Airlines for comment via email outside of normal working hours.
While not all flights in and out of Florida airports are used purely for holiday or leisure purposes, for those who don't live within reasonable driving distance, flying is the primary travel option, with significant impacts on the state's economy.
Tourism contributed $101.9 billion to Florida's Gross State Product (GSP) in 2020, according to analysis conducted for tourism board Visit Florida.
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