Metro Airport Adds Non-Stop Routes to Atlanta, New Orleans, Washington D.C.
By Edward Cardenas
ROMULUS (CBS Detroit) - Passengers flying out of Metro Airport will have additional choices for non-stop flights later this year.
Spirit Airlines has added additional non-stop flights to Atlanta and New Orleans, and American Airlines will resume non-stop service to Washington-National Airport.
"Making sure our passengers have more than one option to such an important airport for our community was definitely a priority for us," said Airport Authority CEO Tom Naughton in a release. "Washington-National would have been the largest market from Detroit to be operated by only one carrier, but thanks to the hard work and efforts of our Air Service Development and Government Affairs teams, we will maintain competition on this critical route."
Following the American Airlines merger with US Airways, American announced that Metro Airport would lose service to Washington-National as a result of changes required by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to increase overall air service competition, airport officials stated.
Airport Authority and American Airlines officials continued conversations following the announcement, and the airline will resume non-stop service with four round-trips per day starting Nov. 6.
SPIRIT ADDS FLIGHTS
The addition of the Spirit routes marks the continued expansion of service by the airline at Metro Airport. These are the third and fourth new routes Spirit has added this year.
Tickets went on sale Wednesday for non-stop flights by Spirit Airlines to Atlanta and New Orleans from Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The daily flights begin Nov. 2 for Atlanta, and Nov. 6 for New Orleans.
Spirit added Minneapolis as a seasonal route earlier this year, and Kansas City service begins Aug. 7.
"It's been a great year for us in terms of new service and the number of new low-cost carrier-routes this year from DTW. The new routes are really a win for both our air travelers and our community," said Joe Cambron, Director of Air Service Development for the airport in a release. "It's been at least a decade since DTW had such a strong year for new routes, and we will continue working on giving our customers as many options as possible for their travel needs."
