Atlantic City International Airport finds new service to replace flights lost in Spirit Airlines shutdown

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Atlantic City International Airport is working to keep operations going with new carriers to replace flights lost in the Spirit Airlines shutdown.

Tim Kroll, director of the airport, said it’s adding new service from Allegiant Air and Breeze Airways. Allegiant already flies out of Atlantic City; Breeze will start new Atlantic City service Wednesday. Both will keep air service going to cities previously serviced by Spirit and will expand to some new places.

“We’re going to have service to Charleston, which is brand new for us with Breeze. We never had that city before. Then they’re going to add Raleigh-Durham in June and Florida destinations. So, we’ll actually end up with more destinations than in the past,” Kroll said.

He added that a downside is the frequency of flights to some destinations will be somewhat lacking.

Kroll explained how new air routes just don’t happen overnight, and that the two airlines will have to review passenger frequency to see if routes are viable.

He gave an example: Spirit might have seven departures to a particular destination, but a replacement carrier might decide five daily departures would be a better economic model.

American Airlines could also fill voids. It doesn’t fly any planes out of the airport, but does use luxury buses to take passengers from nearby Pomona, New Jersey, directly to the gates at Philadelphia International Airport.

“There were over 45,000 passengers who used that service last year. It operates five times a day and you just book a ticket like you would on an American flight. You choose Atlantic City as your starting point, you go through security in Atlantic City Airport and you end up at a gate at Philadelphia Airport just like a connecting flight,” Kroll said.

He also said there are advantages to the Atlantic City airport, including cheaper parking, avoiding Philadelphia’s screening lines and earning flight credit.

Service will be phased in over the next several months. Kroll said the airport is also working to expand its number of daily flights and destinations to diversify its customer base.