Just hours after Spirit Airlines collapsed, its rivals unveiled their new flight plans.
Airlines had actually been at work for months on their route changes as Spirit’s shutdown looked more and more likely. Some new flights start this week. It comes after Spirit abruptly ceased operations overnight Saturday, stranding thousands of customers.
The quick move shows how carriers are vying for Spirit’s valuable assets, like airport gates and a customer base that has one less choice when booking. That could drive up airfare even more than it already has risen after the fuel-driven hikes this year, analysts said.
Even though Spirit’s already pared-down summer schedule was about 1.5% of U.S. domestic capacity, it could have a broader impact on the industry and travelers’ wallets, Barclays airline analyst Brandon Oglenski said in a note Monday.
“Beyond direct revenue capture from Spirit’s prior network, we also suspect industry pricing could benefit significantly for nearly all airlines given the removal of excess point-to-point capacity, which will likely drive even higher unit revenue outcomes in the near term,” he said.
