Spirit Airlines announced Thursday that it will begin nonstop service between Pittsburgh International Airport and New York-LaGuardia Airport on May 8, enhancing Spirit’s growing PIT network and adding another affordable travel option to the New York market.

Flights will operate daily through late October with a 228-seat Airbus A321 aircraft. The inbound flight will depart from LGA at 3:21 p.m. and arrive in PIT at 4:48 p.m. The outbound will leave from PIT at 5:48 p.m. and arrive at LGA at 7:09 p.m.

To celebrate the new route, Spirit is offering special introductory $89 one-way fares between Pittsburgh and New York-LaGuardia. Flights are available for booking at Spirit.com.

Spirit becomes the third carrier to offer nonstop service to LGA, joining American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, which offer multiple daily flights apiece.

“We’re excited to grow our Pittsburgh service with the addition of a new, affordable way to get to the Big Apple this summer,” said John Kirby, Spirit’s Vice President of Network Planning. “The new route will make it easier for our Pittsburgh Guests to vacation in New York and connect family and friends between the two cities.”

The new route will operate alongside Spirit’s existing daily service to Newark Liberty International Airport, which provides convenient access to Midtown Manhattan. The LGA flight will bolster the ultra-low-cost carrier’s Pittsburgh-New York service and provide a budget-friendly choice for travelers heading to Manhattan and areas east of New York City, such as Brooklyn, Long Island and Queens.

“We are excited to see Spirit grow its Pittsburgh-New York connection with the addition of LaGuardia,” said Joe Rotterdam, Director, Air Service Development at PIT. “This new route complements Spirit’s existing service to Newark, bringing another budget-friendly option to the New York market for Pittsburghers.”

A Spirit Airlines Airbus A321 taxis to its gate at PIT on Feb. 24, 2023. Spirit will utilize its 228-seat A321 on the PIT-LGA route starting May 8. (Photo by Evan Dougherty)

LGA becomes Spirit’s 10th destination served nonstop from Pittsburgh and will start as the airline marks seven years of serving PIT. Spirit has grown to become PIT’s fifth-largest carrier by total passengers flown and has recently added destinations such as Miami, which launched in November, and Newark.

This is the latest route added by ultra-low-cost carriers at PIT to historically high-fare markets like New York. It also joins a growing list of new flights added by airlines at PIT for summer travel, including international.

Frontier Airlines will add twice-daily nonstops to Philadelphia this May in a four-city expansion that also includes service to Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth and Raleigh-Durham. That same month, Sun Country Airlines will resume seasonal nonstop service to Minneapolis/St. Paul with twice-weekly service, increasing to four times a week in June.

Internationally, PIT will have daily flights to Europe this summer, with British Airways increasing flights to London Heathrow to six times a week on April 1 and Icelandair launching seasonal, four times weekly service to Reykjavik, Iceland, on May 16. In addition, Air Canada will resume daily nonstop flights to Montreal on May 1.

Nonstop flights to the West Coast will also see a boost with the addition of San Diego to Pittsburgh’s route map, with Breeze Airways (May 3) and Southwest Airlines (June 8) launching service. Alaska Airlines will also add a second daily flight to Seattle on May 16 alongside United’s twice-daily service to San Francisco, and Breeze and Spirit’s nonstop service to Los Angeles.