TARHEEL SPIRIT.

• Author: Martin, Cathy
• Position: STATEWIDE: Triangle

Raleigh-Durham International Airport has been picking up flights at a brisk pace, with four airlines announcing new destinations in January alone. The latest entrant is Spirit Airlines, the Florida-based budget carrier that will add routes to seven cities--Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Orlando, Fla., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and New Orleans--beginning in May. Spirit already flies out of Asheville and Greensboro and plans to add service from Charlotte to four U.S. destinations in June.

The self-described "ultra low-cost carrier" once had a reputation for excessive delays and cancellations and poor customer service. But the airline finished 2018 with a completion factor--the rate of noncanceled flights--topping 99%, CEO Ted Christie said on a February earnings call. Moreover, 81.1% of Spirit's flights arrived on time during the first 10 months of the year, outperforming most U.S. competitors, Christie said. Shares are up 30% from a year ago, and Spirit was the best-performing airline stock in 2018...