Summary
- Spirit Airlines has been flying from Atlantic City International Airport since the 1980s when the airline was known as Charter One Airlines.
- Spirit capitalizes on South Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware travelers who want to avoid the area’s busy airports. They also capture the market for “snowbirds” or people looking to fly down south to beat cold northeast winters.
- The airline experiences virtually no competition from other airlines in Atlantic City. However, with Spirit closing its crew base at the airport, signs might point to Spirit Airlines looking to leave Atlantic City.
Table of Contents
Atlantic City has been a mainstay destination for Spirit Airlines since the airline was known as Charter One Airlines during the 1980s.
Today, due to Atlantic City being a resort town and Pennsylvania & Delaware having a larger senior population, Spirit Airlines has a market to offer flights down to Florida.
Atlantic City International Airport is an alternative option for these residents to avoid the more hectic Philadelphia International Airport and Newark International Airport.
In this guide, we will break down Spirit Airlines’s history at Atlantic City, and the routes they offer, and provide some thoughts about the future of Spirit at this resort destination.
History of Spirit Airlines at Atlantic City
The Early Beginnings at Atlantic City International Airport
The history of Spirit Airlines in Atlantic City begins well before the airline was even known as “Spirit Airlines”. The air carrier was once known as Charter One Airlines based in Detroit, Michigan.
Charter One was a charter airline that offered flights to leisurely destinations throughout the United States and North America. Two of those locations were the casino capitals of the country, Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
Charter One began to expand its route presence during the 1990s. It offered flights from New England (Boston & Providence) to Atlantic City.
The changeover from Charter One Airlines to Spirt Airlines occurred in June 1992, when the airline welcomed jet aircraft to its fleet.
Spirit Airlines in the 1990s and Early 2000s
Spirit Airlines continued offering flights from Atlantic City, expanding a route down to Southern Florida’s Fort Myers region in September 1993.
Atlantic City International Airport throughout the 1990s and early 2000s was a moderately popular airport in New Jersey based on the annual number of passengers utilizing the airport and the amount of airline competition at the airport.
However, the airport began to struggle during the early 2010s largely driven by the effects of the 2008 recession and uncertainty in the aviation industry.
Many carriers would begin to leave Atlantic City causing yearly passenger totals to fall.
Spirit Airlines remained committed to providing the airport with consistent air service. For a while, Spirit Airlines became the only air carrier providing service from the airport.
The Addition and Removal of Routes from Atlantic City
Many routes have come and gone for the airline at Atlantic City throughout the years. Much of this has to do with seasonality and passenger demand.
In 2018, Spirit welcomed back a seasonal flight to Atlanta and offered a new route to New Orleans.
In 2020, Spirit announced greater coverage for Florida and South Carolina regions when it added flights to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Myrtle Beach.
Spirit added back a route to West Palm Beach in Florida in 2022.
The Elimination of Spirit’s Crew Base in 2024
One major development in 2024, was that the airline announced that it would terminate its crew base at Atlantic City.
The reasoning was due to Spirit’s gradual decline of flight offerings from Atlantic City. The airline wants to pursue larger crew bases in the Northeast that can accommodate more flight options from the region.
The crew base closure doesn’t mean the airline will cease flying from Atlantic City in the immediate future. However, it may be a step in that direction as Spirit is already present in Newark and Philadelphia.
Why Does Spirit Airlines Continue to Fly from Atlantic City?
Spirit Airlines and their commitment to Atlantic City stems from gaps in the South Jersey and Delaware markets.
While Philadelphia is the region’s largest airport, people in these regions don’t have a formidable backup option to avoid some of the headaches of flying out of the Philadephia. Travelers seeking an alternative commute south to Baltimore or Washington D.C or drive North to Newark or New York City’s major airports.
Delaware’s only major airport, Wilmington Airport faces the same route offering troubles as Atlantic City to a much greater extent as Delaware doesn’t appeal to travelers as much as a leisurely city as Atlantic City.
Spirit Airlines capitalized on this gap offering nonstop flights to destinations along the East Coast for passengers trying to avoid the hassle of traveling to nearby major airports.
Spirit Airlines Routes Offered From Atlantic City
Historically, Spirit Airlines has mostly offered flights to Florida from Atlantic City to much of the delight of area snowbirds or older people looking to beat Northeast cold winters.
Delaware and Pennsylvania each rank 6 & 7 in states with the largest senior citizen population with each nearly accounting for 10% of the state’s respective population.
Atlantic City has been a popular resort destination for senior citizens largely thanks to the casinos and senior’s disposable income. So it makes sense when Spirit Airlines would offer flights from Atlantic City to mostly warmer destinations down south.
Today, Spirit Airlines offers six nonstop flights from Atlantic City International Airport to destinations in the South.
See the table below for all Spirit Airlines routes offered from Atlantic City.
| Destination | Airport Name | Offering | Aircraft |
| Orlando | Orlando International Airport | Year Round | Airbus A320 |
| Tampa | Tampa International Airport | Year Round | Airbus A321neoAirbus A320neo |
| Fort Myers | Southwest Florida International Airport | Year Round | Airbus A321neo |
| West Palm Beach | West Palm Beach International Airport | Year Round | Airbus A320 |
| Fort Lauderdale | Fort Lauderdale International Airport | Year Round | Airbus A320Airbus A321neo |
| Myrtle Beach | Myrtle Beach International Airport. | Year Round | Airbus A320 |
Spirit Airlines’s Competition at Atlantic City
As of 2024, Spirit Airlines’ only competition in Atlantic City may come from Sun Country Airlines. Sun Country announced in 2023 a seasonal route from Minneapolis, Minnesota. But Sun Country has yet to fly this route due to pilot shortages.
However considering the Spirit’s super niche market share out of Atlantic City, they have to be considering the alternative options of our Newark Liberty International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.
Airlines like JetBlue Airways, Frontier Airlines, United Airlines, and American Airlines are taking away from Spirit’s market share in the South Jersey, Delaware-Philadelphia area. There is also some self-cannibalization from Newark as Spirit does offer flights to Florida.
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Spirit Airlines Aircraft Used at Atlantic City
Spirit Airlines has an Airbus fleet. When operating to/from Atlantic City, mainly two aircraft types are used on routes from the city.
However the third aircraft type, the Airbus A319 is more than capable of taking the place of any of the the two other aircraft types. Spirit’s Airbus A319 unfortunately is about to be retired.
Airbus A320
Spirit’s Airbus A320 flies most flights in Spirit’s route network. It can fit anywhere from 174 to 181 passengers.
There are two types of Airbus A320 aircraft that Spirit operates. One is the classic version and the other is the new engine option or Airbus A320neo.
The only difference between both variants is that the NEO version has better, more fuel-efficient engines making flight operation costs less for the airline. Also, these engines are less noisy making the cabin noise ambience levels much more enjoyable for passengers.
The Airbus A320 can realistically serve any route from Atlantic City. However, the only limitation would be the amount of passengers it can carry on highly demanded routes.
Airbus A321
The Airbus A321 for Spirit Airlines is a longer version of the Airbus A320. It can fit upwards of 224 passengers. There are very few performance differences between the Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 besides the latter being able to accommodate more weight from the added passengers.
Spirit does indeed also fly the NEO version of the A321 as well. That version has the same characteristics as the Airbus A320neo.
The airline tends to fly the Airbus A321 on the higher demanded routes from Atlantic City. With a greater passenger capacity, the aircraft type can obviously fit more passengers per flight than the Airbus A320.
Final Thoughts About Spirit Airlines Service at Atlantic City
For travelers in Southern Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania region looking to travel down South during the winters, Atlantic City is a great option to avoid the hassle of flying out of Philadelphia.
Spirit Airlines being Atlantic City International Airport’s only tenant with routine airline service to the South, passengers can catch a flight at a fraction of the cost and without having to drive and plan for long security lines.
However, based on the optics and metrics from the airline in Atlantic City, Spirit may be looking elsewhere to offer flights instead of Atlantic City.
With dwindling passenger traffic numbers, Spirit seemingly reducing the number of flights from the airport, and the closure of its crew base of operation, the airline may look to expand its presence at the nearby Philadelphia International Airport or Newark International Airport.
Sources
https://www.zippia.com/spirit-airlines-careers-10713/history
https://simpleflying.com/spirit-atlantic-city-manchester
https://www.nj.com/atlantic/2018/01/a_budget_airline_flying_out_of_nj_will_now_fly_to.html
https://njbiz.com/spirit-airlines-adds-flights-ac-snowbird-destinations
https://stacker.com/your-state/states-most-seniors
https://seatguru.com/airlines/Spirit_Airlines/information.php
https://www.flightconnections.com/route-map-spirit-airlines-nk
