That's because Spirit Airlines is the only commercial airline serving LBE.
“Because they are the only ones, they are really important; it would be devastating if they failed,” said Gabe Monzo, the airport’s executive director.
Spirit has reduced its schedule at LBE from multiple daily flights to one direct flight to Orlando.
But Monzo says service to Myrtle Beach will likely resume in the spring.
A 2022 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation study estimated the regional economic impact of LBE arriving and departing passengers at $213.9 million. According to Monzo, $100 million of that came from Spirit Airlines travelers.
Spirit's bargain price flyer
LBE won't be the only one left out if Spirit doesn't find a way forward.
Spirit Airlines fills a niche for leisure travelers, students, missionaries and others looking for bargain fares with no frills.
Professor Jase Ramsey, a management professor at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, has a dual involvement with Spirit Airlines: He uses the airline for family vacations from nearby Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) and incorporates Spirit into his courses.
From a family perspective, he said a Florida without spirit hurts in two directions. Its absence from the market is likely to increase prices for incoming tourists from the north. But it also limits affordable vacation options for South Florida families traveling to the Caribbean.
“It will be bad for our region if something happens to Spirit in terms of pricing. They are usually our budget airline. If you want to take a family vacation from here, this is your airline of choice,” Ramsey said.
HOUSTON, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 21: Travelers roll their luggage to the Spirit Airlines check-in counter at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Tuesday, November 21, 2023, in Houston. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Houston Chronicle/hearst Newspapers via Getty Images | Hearst Newspapers | Getty Images
From a tourism perspective, Spirit is a lifeline in South Florida.
“This is not good for us. South Florida really depends on them. It's a healthy market with two low-cost carriers competing with each other,” Ramsey said, referring to Southwest Airlines, which also flies to RSW and which he said also keeps fares low. He has just returned from a vacation in the Caribbean with his wife and young child, lured by the cheap fares and unusual destinations that some other airlines avoid.
Unusual goals, small margins
For example, when there was unrest in Haiti in 2018, Spirit – which offers direct flights from Port-au-Prince to Fort Lauderdale and New York – was a lifeline for some.
“They kept flying, and that was good for us because we were able to keep some programs,” said Lisa Stutzman, who organizes trips for Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries. “They were a plus for Haiti,” she said, pointing out that both American and Delta had stopped flying to Port-au-Price at the time, leaving Spirit as the only option.
But not everyone in Port-au-Prince is a fan of Spirit.
Wadestrant Jean-Baptiste, The president of the Evangelical Theological Seminary, which has about 300 students and is located in Port-au-Prince, said Spirit is a good option for some Haitians but the price is often not worth it for those facing economic hardship could be one of the reasons Spirit is having problems.
“Spirit seems like a good option because our economy is down, and they offer cheap tickets so people are more likely to go to Spirit, but they end up wasting time and money,” says Jean-Baptiste.
He said Haitians traveling to the United States like to buy items that are cheaper than in Port-au-Prince. And they happily take these items home, but are then hindered by Spirit's rules on bag dimensions and weight.
“They measure every bag, and it’s stressful,” Jean-Baptiste said. Exceeding the bag weight, which often happens after purchases in the US, can be costly. “You end up paying more for the item than if you had bought it in Haiti,” he said, adding that he has flown on Spirit a few times but prefers American Airlines. But he added that Spirit is a good option for Haitians who just want to get away.
Paul Vaaler, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School and the Carlson School of Management, said Spirit's attention to offbeat destinations like Port-au-Prince sets it apart from other airlines. However, he says their margins are so thin that it's difficult for Spirit to compete.
Vaaler believes the judge's ruling against the JetBlue-Spirit merger was unsound and could be overturned on appeal. On Friday, the airlines formally appealed the decision.
“It was a very wooden Clayton Act decision,” Vaaler said, referring to the competition law on which the judge based his decision. Instead of stifling competition, a more muscular Jet Blue could make prices more competitive, he said.
“What I think the judge missed is that a merger has a counterbalancing positive effect; a big JetBlue could put more pressure on legacy airlines,” Vaaler said. This is particularly true in mixed markets like Los Angeles, which attract both leisure and business travelers.
One of Spirit's challenges is that prices are so low that the company competes not only with airlines but also with buses and trains.
“They are creating a whole new group of travelers,” Vaaler said, adding that prices are lower for everyone when they have ultra-low-cost carriers nearby. “These players have a role to play and providing those choices is really important; they go to places that the legacy airlines don’t,” he added.
Meanwhile, back in Latrobe, airport director Monzo just hopes that Spirit stays in the sky.
“The spirit has kept us alive, that’s for sure, but no matter what happens we will carry on,” Monzo said.