Officials from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) and Spirit Airlines recently announced the air carrier will be launching year-round, daily service to seven popular, new destinations – including two Florida cities, Boston, Chicago, and New Orleans.
These are the first flights Spirit will make from RDU, which has been trying to get the airline to operate from the facility for five years. According to Stephen Schuler, Spirit Airlines spokesman, the airline does a great deal of research before it commits itself to entering a new market, and five years is not an unusual span of time for this determination to be made. This situation is a perfect time for airline officials to use brochure printing to reveal the new schedule.
RDU in general is happy about the growth it has experienced in the last few years. More than 400 arrivals and departures take place at the airport each day, with 66 destinations served. Over 11 million passengers flew into or out of RDU in 2017, and now 11 airlines operate from the field, with Spirit the latest to join the roster.
Shortly before Spirit made its announcement, Via Airlines, another no-frills airline, said it was offering a nonstop flight from RUD to Birmingham, Alabama. Last November, Southwest Airlines began flying nonstop to San Jose, and Frontier added several new flights to its schedule.
The service is scheduled to start May 2. The other new destinations are Detroit, Baltimore, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale.