New MB to Orlando direct flight

Spirit Airlines plans to begin nonstop route June 12

Spirit Airlines will begin flying direct between Myrtle Beach and Orlando starting June 12, the company announced Thursday.

Spirit, the largest carrier in Myrtle Beach, added the flight to compete with Allegiant Air, another low-cost carrier, which announced flights between Wilmington, N.C., and Orlando earlier this month.

"It's a strategic decision looking at the competitive" landscape, Spirit Airlines spokesman Juan Arbelaez said.

Spirit likely will use two aircraft for the Myrtle Beach-Orlando route, depending on demand: an Airbus 319, which holds 144 passengers, and an Airbus 321, which holds 198 passengers, Arbelaez said.

The flight will depart from Myrtle Beach at 11:05 a.m. and land at Orlando International Airport at 12:35 p.m.

A return flight will depart from Orlando at 4:15 p.m. and arrive in Myrtle Beach at 5:45 p.m.

The Orlando-Myrtle Beach route was one of many announced Thursday by the Miramar, Fla.-based airline.

The airline will also fly to more than a dozen destinations out of Columbia.

Spirit Airlines carried more than 318,000 passengers into Myrtle Beach in 2007, making it the city's largest carrier.

Mickey McCamish, president of marketing group Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, said the flights would give residents of the country's theme park mecca a chance to check out the new theme park opening in Myrtle Beach in April, Hard Rock Park.

"Maybe those folks in Orlando would like to see a real theme park," he said jokingly.

"Perhaps they're tired of seeing Mickey Mouse."

McCamish said the flights give Orlando golfers a chance to escape the packed golf courses down there. While winter is the high season for Orlando golf, it's the offseason in Myrtle Beach, he said.

Spirit Airlines, which has made a name for itself with fare specials that cost just pennies each way, kicked off the new Orlando route with $7 sale fares on a handful of dates each way.

Allegiant Air will begin its nonstop service between Wilmington and Orlando Sanford International Airport on April 4.