Spirit Airlines to serve Burbank Airport with super-cheap flights to Las Vegas

Spirit Airlines is bringing its ultra-low-cost brand of service to Hollywood Burbank Airport this summer, with plans to target budget-minded fans of Sin City.

The Florida-based carrier announced plans Tuesday to begin serving the airport in June, with three daily flights to Las Vegas. Airline executives promised that prices would be low enough to even persuade motorists to fly to the desert gambling mecca.

“We look for markets that are overpriced and underserved,” said John Kirby, executive vice president of network planning for Spirit.

One-way flights on Spirit Airlines from Burbank to Las Vegas were on sale Tuesday for as low as $53, matching the lowest fares now charged by Southwest Airlines.

Spirit already flies to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas from Los Angeles International Airport, with the Burbank flights expanding on its service to Las Vegas from Southern California. Kirby said he hopes to eventually add more routes from Hollywood Burbank Airport to other destinations.

“We like to walk before we run,” Kirby said.

Spirit and other low-cost carriers such as Southwest, Frontier and Allegiant have expanded quickly in recent years, forcing large airlines such as American, Delta and United to add no-frill seats, called “basic economy” fares, to compete for fliers with tight budgets.

Spirit, which charges extra fees for seat assignments, wireless internet, snacks and even boarding passes, has been trying in the last year or so to repair a reputation in the industry as a carrier with rock-bottom prices but poor passenger service and high rates of delays and cancellations.

“We like to talk about ourselves as the best value in the sky coupled with good operational reliability,” said Kirby, who joined Spirit in November after nearly four years as a network planner at rival Alaska Airlines.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

Twitter: @hugomartin