Spirit Airlines adding new cross-country flight: Oakland to Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Spirit Airlines is adding nonstop flights between Oakland, California, and its Fort Lauderdale, Florida, hub in April.
The no-frills airline's latest cross-country route will be its longest domestic route , supplanting Los Angeles-Philadelphia, and the second-longest flight in the system after Fort Lauderdale-Lima, Peru. The flight is about 5 1/2 hours long.
The seasonal flight, which begins April 1 and will be operated daily, is Spirit's sixth route out of Oakland. The airline, which sells cheap tickets and charges extra for everything including carry-on bags, soft drinks and water, started service at Oakland International Airport in 2011 with flights to Las Vegas.
Spirit will be the only carrier offering nonstop flights between Oakland and Fort Lauderdale. United and JetBlue offer nonstop flights from the bigger airport in the region, San Francisco International Airport.
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The new flight from Oakland to Florida will be a red-eye flight, departing just after 9:30 p.m. and arriving in Fort Lauderdale at 6 a.m.
Spirit is offering introductory one-way fares of $71 on the route. Availability is limited, and the cheapest fares are generally for travel during the week.