Spirit Airlines Shutdown: JetBlue Picks Up 11 New Florida Routes

JetBlue Airways announced 11 new routes from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida just hours after Spirit Airlines abruptly shut down on Saturday, ending 34 years of operations and leaving roughly 17,000 employees out of work. The new JetBlue routes—set to begin July 9—directly fill markets Spirit Airlines served, including six destinations JetBlue had not flown to before. The expansion will give JetBlue its largest-ever operation at Fort Lauderdale, with nearly 130 daily departures projected this summer, 75 percent more than last year.Spirit Airlines' collapse removes nearly 2 percent of all U.S. domestic airline seats overnight, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium, with the steepest impact in Las Vegas as well as Fort Lauderdale and Orlando—markets where Spirit Airlines was a major presence.Why It MattersDue to the shutdown, budget-conscious and leisure travelers are expected to feel the absence of Spirit Airlines most acutely. JetBlue's rapid expansion is the most aggressive move yet by any U.S. airline to fill the gap, but with one major budget carrier gone, fares on Spirit's former routes are likely to rise without continued competition.Shares of JetBlue Airways and Frontier Airlines jumped sharply on Friday morning after a Wall Street Journal report said Spirit Airlines was