Look's like the Twin Cities are working out and making money for Spirit!

Spirit Airlines announces 4 new destinations from MSP

Bargain-basement Spirit Airlines is expanding its presence at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by announcing new service to several additional cities, all them offering warmer weather for Minnesotans starting in November.

The new destinations are: Los Angeles, Phoenix, Orlando and Tampa. Service starts Nov. 7, with online booking available now.

The routes were revealed at a news conference Monday at the Twin Cities airport’s No. 2 terminal, or the terminal formerly known as Humphrey.

Spirit started serving the Twin Cities in June 2012. Its base fares are kept low, while it charges for such “extras” as overhead baggage, water and printed boarding passes. Spirit also packs more people onto its planes by offering less leg room than other airlines.

Among those attending the news conference were Jeff Hamiel, the Metropolitan Airports Commission’s executive director, MAC Chairman Dan Boivin and Spirit executive Mark Kopczak.

Defending the deep a la carte menu that passengers can choose from, Kopczak said,“We need competitive air service and a menu of choices. It’s important to look at price. Not all customers want first class.”

Currently, Spirit flies from MSP to Chicago, Dallas, Denver and Las Vegas. It will resume nonstop seasonal service to Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers on Nov. 7.

Spirit’s all-Airbus fleet operates about 250 daily flights to more than 50 destinations in the United States, Latin America and Caribbean. It was founded in 1980 in suburban Detroit as Charter One and is headquartered in Miramar, Fla., just north of Miami.