Jaunted

New Routes: Open Skies over Colombia

3/06/2008 at 11:05 AM
Tags: New Routes, JetBlue, Spirit Airlines, Delta, American Airlines, Continental, LCCs, Low Cost Carriers (all tags)

The worldwide leader in scandalously-named fare sales, Spirit Airlines, just locked down an interesting new route. The LCC will now get to operate seven flights a week between Ft. Lauderdale and Bogotá, Colombia, which is rapidly becoming 2008's It destination.

Spirit had to get Department of Transportation approval for the routes because they're regulated by a bilateral treaty. When the US and Colombia decided to up the number of flights between the two countries last year, a heap of airlines clamored to get in on the action. Delta, JetBlue and Continental will join Spirit in the newly-open skies.

American Airlines--which had a near monopoly on the route--still offers the most frequencies of any carrier. But when the low cost players start flying in April, it's almost a sure-thing that fares will fall. The only thing in doubt is what kind of off-color marketing campaign Spirit will use to hype the new flights.

Related Stories:
· Spirit Finally Wins the War [Airline Biz Blog]
· Battle for Colombia Heating Up [Jaunted]
· Everyone's Excited about Bogotá [Jaunted]