Airlines Stepping Up After Spirit Shutdown with New Nonstop Flights to Disney World

Following the abrupt overnight shutdown of Spirit Airlines last weekend, other low-cost carriers are scrambling to fill the void. Southwest, JetBlue, Breeze, and others have all announced intentions to expand service to Florida airports home to Walt Disney World and other tourist destinations. Here’s the latest news about airlines adding routes in Orlando and beyond, along with our commentary.

As basic background, Spirit Airlines ended operations on May 2nd. The airline’s website was transformed into a going-out-of-business site with the headline, “Spirit Winding Down Operations.” It warned travelers that all flights had been cancelled, and guests should not go to the airport without rebooking. Spirit’s standard customer service was offered to assist stranded travelers (nothing).

This was major news not just for affected customers, but for the travel industry as a whole. And as we explained, Spirit’s shutdown would have an outsized impact in the Sunshine State. Over 100 of the cancellations occurred at Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), the latter of which being where Spirit was the leader in passengers served.

The closure of Spirit Airlines is hugely consequential news for travelers to Walt Disney World, and will have ramifications even for those who fly other airlines. Spirit Airlines was one of the largest operators at both FLL and MCO, with the airports scheduled to see 17.5% and 6.9% of the airline’s departures, respectively. Those airports accounted for nearly 25% of Spirit’s total departures.

Accordingly, the end of Spirit Airlines will have a huge impact on the number of total flights canceled and routes lost, impacting the revenue of Orlando Airport. According to the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Spirit had approximately 496,000 passengers at MCO in March. During the last week, Spirit Airlines was scheduled to operate 237 flights out of MCO to 46 different domestic and international destinations.

Spirit also had a substantial presence at airports around Florida, including but not limited to Miami International Airport (MIA), Tampa International Airport (TPA), Southwest Florida Airport (RSW), and West Palm Beach Airport (PBI).

In the week since Spirit ended operations, other airlines have scrambled to fill the void.

“We have been contacted by JetBlue, Allegiant, Frontier, and Breeze—at a minimum, those airlines want to expand service at Fort Lauderdale Airport,” said Mark Bogen, Broward’s Mayor. He told CBS News that he’s encouraged other airlines are lining up to take on new routes.

The terminal out of which Spirit operated is now a veritable ghost town, but FLL is optimistic that’ll soon change. “It’s not like Spirit is gone and there’s nobody to fill that void. We have four carriers that will fill it,” Bogen added.

Other airlines have already announced expansion plans: JetBlue is adding 11 new destinations from FLL, Breeze Airways is adding eight new routes, and Frontier is adding nine. Mayor Bogen expects the roughly 3,000 former Spirit employees who lost their jobs will be hired by the rival airlines.

Breeze Airways announced its first of many expected expansions last week, without mentioning the Spirit shutdown. The upstart airline indicated it was adding more direct flights from “underserved markets,” with new nonstop service to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and new service to its existing international destinations from several additional U.S. cities.

“In 2021, Breeze took flight with a handful of routes and big plans to deliver affordable, elevated service between underserved cities. Launching service to the U.S. Virgin Islands on the cusp of our 5-year anniversary speaks to how far Breeze has come in that time,” said David Neeleman, founder and CEO of Breeze Airways. “Whether it’s a new destination like St. Thomas or making sure travelers in Atlantic City have affordable options, we’re continuing to grow where the demand is – and we’re just getting started.”

The announcement also includes expanded service from Atlantic City International Airport (ACY), where Breeze celebrates its first flight this week. These additional routes bring Breeze’s service to seven nonstop destinations, which is the most of any carrier in Atlantic City.

The Atlantic City service will offer daily nonstop flights to and from Orlando International Airport starting July 3, 2026, starting at $89 one-way. This is an indirect replacement for routes previously serviced by Spirit.

It’s probably not on the agenda, but I’d personally love to see Breeze expand options on its Orange County (SNA) to Orange County (MCO) route between California and Florida. That non-stop Disneyland to Walt Disney World flight is always an attractive option to me, but I’ve yet to book because it’s only once-daily in the best of circumstances. That’s just too risky for me, especially on a budget carrier.

Since that non-stop Breeze route between SNA and MCO was announced a few years ago, I’ve been optimistic that it would prompt other airlines to follow suit. I’d happily pay a premium to fly Delta or United over Breeze, and the risk and time savings of not having a connecting flight (or having to hassle with LAX) would be huge to me.

I really feel like this has been an overlooked route that carriers should’ve added ages ago when the Disney fandom exploded in popularity. It truly seems like a no-brainer and has for a while. Unfortunately, nothing has changed in the few years since, save for Southwest adding an occasional non-stop between Long Beach and MCO. Maybe the Spirit shutdown will cause other airlines to revisit their routes between SNA and MCO. That’s probably wishful thinking on my part, though.

For its part, Southwest Airlines has announced that it is reinforcing a decades-long commitment to both Las Vegas (LAS) and Orlando (MCO) by adding waves of new flights beginning this spring and continuing through Spring 2027.

The expanded flight schedules build on the carrier’s longstanding position as the largest air carrier in both communities and bring new ways to travel nonstop between dozens of cities and two of the most dynamic leisure and convention markets in the United States.

“Las Vegas and Orlando are foundational communities in our network, and places where Southwest long has offered the most service, seats, and nonstop travel options,” said Andrew Watterson, Southwest Airlines Chief Operating Officer. “We’re bringing more to our relationship in both places and adding to the hundreds of flights a day we already offer in both communities.”

Overall, Southwest plans to introduce or increase service on 26 of 81 routes served to and from Las Vegas between now and Spring 2027. Although Las Vegas and Orlando might be competing vacation destinations for some Disney Adults, the former isn’t really relevant to DTB, so let’s turn to the announcements for MCO.

Southwest is scheduled to operate its largest-ever Orlando schedule later this year as new or additional flights come online for 23 of 68 routes served to and from Orlando.

In 2027, Southwest intends to offer Central Florida travelers well beyond 200 departures a day through Orlando International Airport. New non-stop service for Orlando International Airport:

• St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
• St. Maarten
• Knoxville, Tenn.
• Little Rock, Ark.
• San Jose, Calif.
• Wichita, Kansas

In addition to the new routes, Southwest plans to increase service on 17 existing routes to and from Orlando:

• Albuquerque, NM
• Austin, Texas
• Baltimore, MD
• Buffalo, NY
• Kansas City, MO
• Las Vegas, NV
• Louisville, KY
• Memphis, TN
• Milwaukee, WI
• Nashville, TN
• New Orleans, LA
• Oklahoma City
• Philadelphia
• Pittsburgh
• Rochester, NY
• San Antonio, Texas
• San Juan, Puerto Rico

Orlando is perennially among the top ten daily operations at Southwest, bases of operation that support domiciled Flight Crews and other work groups such as maintenance, training, technology and facilities, creating thousands of locally based jobs that intertwine flight and community service. Southwest employs more than 4,700 people to support its operations at MCO.

JetBlue has also announced significant expansion at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and a new loyalty status match for eligible Spirit Airlines members.

Part of its effort to support travelers following the shutdown of Spirit Airlines, the announced expansion includes 11 new destinations from FLL and increased frequencies on existing JetBlue routes, giving customers more options to book the airline’s award-winning service and everyday affordable fares.

This isn’t directly relevant to Walt Disney World vacation planning, but we at least wanted to touch upon it since our initial coverage emphasized Spirit’s outsized presence in Florida, and especially Fort Lauderdale. It’s reassuring to see other airlines so quickly scrambling to fill the void. You can read the JetBlue press release for more info.

Our original commentary about the Spirit shutdown largely revolved around indirect impacts on airfare costs, since we ourselves do not fly Spirit. Costs will likely increase because demand would be unchanged, but the overall carrying capacity would decrease with Spirit gone.

It’s thus heartening to see other airlines acting quickly to absorb that capacity and increase routes. Orlando is obviously not an “underserved” market in the traditional sense of the term, but many of the routes to and from Orlando that Spirit serviced would definitely qualify as such.

How that actually plays out, in both the short and long term, still remains to be seen. It’s only been one week, and rival airlines cannot simply create capacity out of thin air. They’ll need to order new planes (or potentially acquire them from Spirit) and start the process to scale up.

This explains the quick announcements, some of which aren’t effective until 2027. Airlines want the more coveted spaces at certain airports (and presumably MCO is one of those), but can’t bring operations online immediately.

It’ll also be interesting to see what happens with pricing. Even if they fill the void in terms of supply or capacity, it’s unlikely that Southwest, JetBlue, Breeze–or any airline–will match Spirit’s base fares.

Anecdotally, whenever I searched for flights to Walt Disney World, Spirit was always far and away the cheapest option. Typically less than even Frontier or Breeze, and often half or one-third that of airfare on Delta or United.

The end of Spirit will drive up costs on all airlines, just as Spirit’s presence caused other airlines to slash prices to keep up. As reported in an interesting read in the Atlantic, The Only Thing Worse Than Spirit Airlines (…Is a World Without Spirit Airlines), the ultra low cost carrier undercutting legacy airlines in new markets drove down prices.

The same phenomenon happened so many times and in so many places that it has a name: The Spirit Effect. According to one study, in markets with ultra-cheap airlines such as Spirit and Frontier, airfare is 21% lower on average compared with markets without them.

Accordingly, there’s the potential for higher airfare costs to put trips out of reach for some budget-conscious travelers. The shutdown of Spirit could realistically increase flight costs for a family of 4 by $500 or more, and that could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back on affording a Walt Disney World vacation.

This is further underscored by Frontier’s earnings call last week, which came after the airline put out a press release touting rescue fares and assisting stranded Spirit customers. As we warned, this was likely just good PR, and Frontier–like all other airlines–would adjust airfare upwards based on the new market dynamic.

Frontier shares were up more than 6% in afternoon trading after it released first-quarter results. This came as Frontier said it expects revenue to rise more than 20% in the second quarter, citing strong demand and less competition on its routes. “Drawing on the benefits realized from prior Spirit capacity adjustments, we believe their exit supports a [revenue per available seat mile] uplift of 3% to 5% going forward,” said Frontier’s chief commercial officer, Bobby Schroeter.

I’m not aware of other airlines discussing the collapse of Spirit to investors yet, but I’d expect similar sentiment. United and Delta both anticipated this happening two months ago due rising oil prices, and stated it’d be good for their businesses. (See Why the Iran War Could Cut Crowds at Disney World & Negatively Impact Your 2026 Travel Plans.)

Longer-term, it is expected that Frontier Airlines will expand routes that were previously serviced by Spirit.

Ultimately, this whole saga with Spirit is incredibly disappointing. That above-referenced article in the Atlantic more or less sums up our perspective: Spirit was not our preferred airline, but we’re glad that it existed.

Spirit might’ve been an awful airline that became a punchline for nickel & diming and a poor customer service experience. But it was cheap! Complain as they might, consumers ultimately vote with their wallets. If people wanted to accept the tradeoff for cheap airfare, that was their prerogative. It’s good that the option existed in Spirit, and many consumers availed themselves of it.

Competition is good for consumers. Spirit offered an ultra low-cost option that put airfare within reach of lower income consumers. The airline also put downward pressure on prices by undercutting its competitors by significant margins, which was a net positive for everyone. I’m not looking forward to yet another increase in airfare as a result of this, but that’s exactly what’s going to happen in the near-term. Here’s hoping that other ultra low-cost carriers fill the void at MCO and drive prices back down. The announcements made thus far are reassuring, and it’s safe to expect more to come.

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

Your Thoughts

Pleased to see Southwest, Breeze, JetBlue and other airlines moving fast to fill the void left by Spirit? Concerned that airfare will rise further as a result? Thoughts on the shutdown of Spirit Airlines? Will you be impacted by this on future trips to Walt Disney World or elsewhere? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!