Myrtle Beach Airport is spreading it's wings to Chicago with new non-stop Spirit Air route

Myrtle Beach is now within easy reach of to those sun-starved Chicagoans just in time for the Grand Strand’s peak golf season.

Starting in March, Spirit Air will begin daily direct service from O’Hare (ORD) to Myrtle Beach (MYR).

I’m fully aware how needed this route was. When I lived in Myrtle Beach for close to two years, I flew to Chicago once every few months. Generally, I had to take a Northwest Airlines route through Detroit to get there, and it was seldom cheap. The best I could find was around $270 and it was never the dates or itinerary I wanted. Sometimes, I couldn’t find a flight to Chicago and had to drive north to Wilmington to catch a plane, about an hour-and-a-half drive (and this was during the bad ‘ol days of $4 gas).

Spirit is kicking off the route with introductory fares as low as $38 plus tax this March. I just did a few more searches at SpiritAir.com through the spring time, and it looks like the regular fare is between about $85-100 each way. Golfers should also take note that Spirit charges $15 to check a bag like golf clubs online (that fee goes up to $19 in April), and $25 at the airport. A second checked bag is a flat $25 as well.

This route addition should be a big boost to Myrtle Beach’s market base. They have tons of routes to the New York City area and the Strand is packed with golfers from New York and Jersey during the spring. Now the nation’s third largest city is just a two-hour, twenty minute flight away. And for you road trippers, it’s about a 16 hour car ride from Chicago to the Grand Strand (which I’ve driven, too).

You can book flights at SpiritAir.com. You can book a Myrtle Beach golf package at MyrtleBeachGolf.com.

Spirit Air is adding direct service to Myrtle Beach from Chicago just in time for the debut of the reopening of Pine Lakes C.C.