Spirit plans major domestic and international expansion

On Friday, Spirit announced its plans for a major expansion in 2008. The Ft. Lauderdale-based low-cost carrier will add 10 new cities from southern Florida and up to three international destinations in its largest expansion yet.

Spirit has not yet selected the cities to which it will add service, and is soliciting applications from interested cities through August 10. “Even though we are the largest and most successful Ultra Low Cost Carrier serving the Caribbean and Latin America from Fort Lauderdale, my phone still rings constantly from people asking us to save their city from high fares,” said Barry Biffle, Chief Marketing Officer in an online press release. “This next wave of expansion will be the largest in our history and will allow us the opportunity to free as many communities as possible from the shackles of high fares.”

This gimmicky method of selecting new cities is typical of the airline known for its two-cent sales. Cities can submit proposals at adioshighfares.com.