On Saturday evening, a Spirit Airlines flight to Dallas was diverted to New Orleans when a woman went into labor while the plane was in-flight.Cristina Penton, of Phoenix, Arizona, who was 36 weeks pregnant, was on flight 971 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Dallas, Texas, when she went into labor.The flight was diverted to Louis Armstrong International Airport, but Penton gave birth before the plane landed. Medical personnel and the Spirit flight crew assisted Penton and her baby after she gave birth, Spirit Airlines said in a statement.The family provided photos to Spirit Airlines to share with the media. The airline coordinated a media event Tuesday with Penton, who spoke about the experience."Everything started happening very quickly," Penton said. "I didn't think I was having the baby because it was too soon, but after a few minutes I knew I needed medical attention."Penton brought her baby, Christoph Lezcano, to the media event. At birth, he weighed 7 pounds and was 19.5 inches tall."A baby being born during a flight is very rare, but our flight attendants are trained to handle medical emergencies in flight and they have access to doctors on the ground via in-flight communication," said Spirit spokesman Paul Berry. "In this case, we were fortunate to also have a pediatrician on board who brought even more care and comfort to the situation."Baby Christoph received free flights for life for himself and a guest on his birthday to anywhere. The airline is also planning a special sale in his honor.More information about Spirit Airlines can be found online.