With Low Passenger Counts, Airlines Concocting Odd Routes

Spirit adds PIT-LBE route—about 60 miles—to maximize loads during pandemic

By Natalie Fiorilli

Published May 4, 2020

Read Time: 3 mins

Print/Download

Passengers who fly Spirit Airlines from Pittsburgh to Orlando, Fla., will soon be making an unusual pit stop along the way.

Spirit is adjusting its Pittsburgh International Airport to Orlando International Airport route to include a stop at Arnold Palmer Airport in Latrobe, Pa., about 60 miles from PIT. Starting in May, the flight, which is scheduled to operate three times weekly, will originate in Orlando, land in Pittsburgh, stop in Latrobe, then return to Orlando.

The route change is one of many atypical adjustments airlines are making in response to record-low passenger traffic levels caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nicolás Mirman, a Dallas-based aviation consultant, said a few airlines are using similar routing methods.

“Some of the airlines have glued together these kind of triangular routes,” said Mirman. “This is something we haven’t seen here in the U.S. since the 1990s.”

Guided by federal funding

As part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act package passed by Congress in March, many airlines applied for a payroll assistance program. As of April 25, the U.S. Treasury Department has distributed $12.4 billion to nearly 100 carriers, including 10 major airlines.

In order to accept the federal aid, airlines must adhere to specific guidelines, including retaining employees through the end of September and maintaining a pe