Highlights
Spirit Airlines is based in Miramar, Fla., and operates 185 flights daily to 36 cities including Aruba, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Cancun, Chicago, Detroit, Fort Myers, Guatemala City, Las Vegas, Lima, Los Angeles, Managua, Montego Bay, Myrtle Beach, Nassau, New York, Orlando, Port-au-Prince, San Jose, San Salvador, Santo Domingo, Tampa, Washington D.C. and. during the winter only, West Palm Beach. Ned Hornfeld founded the airline in 1980 as Detroit-based vacation tour operator called Charter One that provided travel packages to Atlantic City, Las Vegas and the Bahamas. In 1992, the company bought jets and changed its named to Spirit Airlines. The following year, Spirit began flying to...
Spirit Airlines is based in Miramar, Fla., and operates 185 flights daily to 36 cities including Aruba, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Cancun, Chicago, Detroit, Fort Myers, Guatemala City, Las Vegas, Lima, Los Angeles, Managua, Montego Bay, Myrtle Beach, Nassau, New York, Orlando, Port-au-Prince, San Jose, San Salvador, Santo Domingo, Tampa, Washington D.C. and. during the winter only, West Palm Beach. Ned Hornfeld founded the airline in 1980 as Detroit-based vacation tour operator called Charter One that provided travel packages to Atlantic City, Las Vegas and the Bahamas. In 1992, the company bought jets and changed its named to Spirit Airlines. The following year, Spirit began flying to Florida cities, an affiliation that would culminate in December 1999 when it moved its headquarters from Detroit to Miramar. Unlike other airlines, the firm has strived to remain privately owned. In 2004, it raised $125 million in equity by selling a majority stake to investors led by Oaktree Capital Management, a Los Angeles venture capital fund that later added another $100 million to the coffers. That helped the company begin its linchpin project of replacing its entire fleet of MD-80s with the more cost-efficient Airbus planes. Oaktree continues to be a major investor, but control switched over in July 2006 to another private equity firm from Phoenix, Indigo Partners LLC, run by the former chairman of America West Airlines, William Franke. Spirit parlayed rock-bottom fares and huge increases in short-haul service to Latin America and the Caribbean to become the busiest airline at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, accounting for 20 percent of its passengers in 2007. But severe, controversial cost cutting measures called the Ultra Low Cost Carrier approach (including charging passengers to check baggage) led to a significant hike in customer complaints about understaffing, long lines and cancelled flights in 2007. At the same time, destinations appealing to South Florida's diverse population and promotions like the $9 fare boosted patronage to top 3.3 million passengers over the first half of 2007. As a result, Spirit declared a profit for the first half of that year of $22 million compared to three straight years of losses. The company's headquarters is at 2800 Executive Way, Miramar, and its main telephone number is 954-447-7965.
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Holiday airfares to Midwest and New York available for $205 to $412
Holiday airfares for key cities Itinerary, airline, best fare Wednesday on Orbitz.com* Dec. 21-27 Fort Lauderdale to N.Y. Spirit Airlines, $310 Fort Lauderdale to Chicago US Airways, $373 Fort Lauderdale to St. Louis American...Tags: American Airlines, Inc., AirTran, O'Hare, Air Transportation, Transportation
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The magic of Cartagena
Chicago Tribune Staff WriterIf it isn't the bright bougainvillea tumbling from the colonial balconies or the quiet shimmer of the Caribbean Sea, then maybe it's the impromptu dance parties in the town plazas, or the joyful din of guitars, bongos and maracas that drifts through the...Tags: Government, Condos and Houses, Guerrilla Activity, Civil Unrest, Armed Forces
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Grocery store leader explains market concept
Forum Publishing GroupJohn Evans is a store team leader at Whole Foods Market in Coral Springs. "I'm responsible for the overall running of the store, including its financial operation. But my first priority is attending to whatever customers and team members need," he said....Tags: Values, John Evans, Work Relations, Whole Foods Market, Coral Springs
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GETTING THERE There are no direct flights between Chicago and Cartagena's Rafael Nunez International Airport, which accepts international flights only from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Panama City. The flight from Miami to Cartagena takes 21/2 hours....Tags: American Airlines, Inc., Condos and Houses, Restaurants, O'Hare, Tourism and Leisure
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Inspections show inaccurate airline scales may cost travelers money
South Florida Sun-SentinelBefore packing your suitcase and heading to the airport this holiday season, consider this: The airline's baggage scale may be the reason you're paying extra for an overweight bag. A Sun Sentinel analysis of nearly 2,000 South Florida airport scale...Tags: Illnesses, American Airlines, Inc., Palm Beach International Airport, Obesity, Air Transportation
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After deals for Mexico and Canada flights, Southwest mulls next international moves
AP Airlines WriterDALLAS (AP) _ One of the knocks on Southwest Airlines — you'll hear it from fans of other carriers — is that you can't fly to London or Paris on one of its planes. That won't change right away, but Southwest is finally taking baby steps...Tags: Hawaiian Airlines Incorporated, Alpine Skiing, Sales, Boeing Co., Air Transportation
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JetBlue's flights to Bogota, Colombia, to begin Jan. 21
Sentinel Staff WriterJetBlue Airways will begin daily nonstop flights between Orlando and Bogota, Colombia, on Jan. 29, ending months of uncertainty about when -- or even whether -- the service would start. The airline plans to announce the formal start date this morning,...Tags: Getty Images Incorporated, Forest Hills, Kennedy Airport, Air Transportation, Air Transportation Industry
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Spirit Airlines plans to sell ad space inside planes
South Florida Sun-SentinelSpirit Airlines next week will unveil plans to sell space on overhead bins, tray tables and window panels to advertisers. The Miramar-based airline on Thursday invited prospective ad clients to board an aircraft at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International...Tags: Miramar, Transportation Accidents, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Marketing, Consumers
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FREE BEVERAGES: Why most drinks are free
Why do airlines still float free drinks? One by one, U.S. airlines have snatched back freebies that fliers took for granted - baggage checks, meals. (Whoever thought there would come a day when we'd miss airline food?) But one service remains relatively...Tags: Transportation Accidents, DePaul University, Air Transportation, Transportation, Beverage Industry
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Construction continues on 'Harry Potter' attraction, but Universal isn't talking about it
Jason Garcia and Sara K. Clarke, Sentinel Staff WritersDevelopment of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has moved into a new phase, forcing Universal Orlando to close a children's roller coaster, a restaurant, a gift shop, a bar, and a footpath that once ran past them all in Islands of Adventure. Last week...Tags: Music Theater, Harry Potter, Tourism and Leisure, Air Transportation, Air Transportation Industry
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OIA flights clipped
Sentinel Staff WriterTravelers to and from Central Florida will have fewer choices this fall about where and when they can fly out of Orlando International Airport. An analysis of fall schedules shows that the number of seats, flights and destinations available out of OIA...Tags: Forest Hills, Orlando, Miami International Airport, Air Transportation, AirTran
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Spirit Airlines, others cut flights to Caribbean
Expensive jet fuel and a soft American economy are threatening to sink Caribbean tourism as airline ticket prices soar and flights are sharply reduced, choking the flow of the vacationers that many tiny islands depend upon. Tourism is the economic...Tags: American Airlines, Inc., Tourism and Leisure, Caribbean Vacations, Air Transportation, Air Transportation Industry
Dec 4, 2008
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