Frontier Airlines, one of the US’ largest low cost carriers, is planning a major expansion. The airline will add around 20 new destinations, and 85 new routes. This marks the airline’s largest expansion in its history. For most new cities, they will be restarting routes they had discontinued in the past. There are around 5 completely new destinations. These are Buffalo, Charleston (SC), Jacksonville, Ontario (CA), and Pensacola.
Where will the growth be in?
The majority of the growth will be focused on its Denver hub. After years of expanding elsewhere, Frontier plans on adding flights to their original hub city. Twenty (20) new destinations will be added at Denver, as the airline tries to increase connections there. The airline is expecting to receive around 13 new aircraft in the coming year. This will allow the airline to fuel part of the expansion. The other part will come from streamlining some of their current routes, and making their schedule more efficient.
Where will we see expansion?
Per, USA Today, here are the routes, with their tentative start dates (all in 2018):
Albuquerque: Denver.
Atlanta: Long Island/Islip, N.Y.; San Juan, Puerto Rico
Austin: Charlotte; Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; New Orleans; Ontario, Calif. ; Phoenix ; Raleigh/Durham ; San Jose, Calif.; Santa Ana/Orange County, Calif.
Boise: Denver
Buffalo: Denver; Fort Myers, Fla.; Miami; Orlando; Tampa
Calgary: Denver
Charlotte: Austin; Long Island/Islip, N.Y.; Providence
Charleston, S.C.: Denver
Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Orlando
Cancun, Mexico: Kansas City; Orlando
Chicago O’Hare: Long Island/Islip, N.Y.; Ontario, Calif.
Cincinnati: Austin; Jacksonville; Miami; Raleigh/Durham; San Antonio; Seattle
Columbus, Ohio: Tampa
Denver: Albuquerque; Boise, Idaho; Buffalo; Calgary; Charleston, S.C.; El Paso; Fargo, N.D.; Fresno, Calif.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Jackson Hole, Wyo.; Little Rock; Louisville; Oklahoma City; Ontario, Calif.; Palm Springs, Calif.; Pensacola, Fla.; Reno; San Jose, Calif.; Spokane, Wash.; Tulsa
Detroit: Long Island/Islip, N.Y.; Miami
El Paso: Denver
Fargo, N.D.: Denver
Fresno, Calif.: Denver
Fort Myers, Fla.: Buffalo; Long Island/Islip, N.Y.; Kansas City; Nashville; Providence
Grand Rapids, Mich.: Denver; Orlando
Indianapolis: Tampa
Jackson Hole, Wyo.: Denver
Jacksonville, Fla.: Cincinnati; Denver
Kansas City: Cancun, Mexico; Fort Myers, Fla.; Raleigh/Durham; Tampa
Knoxville, Tenn.: Orlando
Las Vegas: Salt Lake City; San Jose, Calif.
Little Rock: Denver
Long Island/Islip, N.Y.: Atlanta; Charlotte; Chicago O’Hare; Detroit; Fort Myers, Fla.; Miami; Minneapolis/St. Paul; New Orleans; Tampa; West Palm Beach
Louisville: Denver
Miami: Buffalo; Cincinnati; Detroit; Long Island/Islip, N.Y.; Milwaukee; Providence; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Trenton, N.J.
Minneapolis/St. Paul: Long Island/Islip, N.Y.; Tampa; Trenton, N.J.
Milwaukee: Buffalo; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Detroit; Long Island/Islip, N.Y.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Miami; Providence; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Tampa; Trenton, N.J.
Nashville: Fort Myers, Fla.; Tampa
New Orleans: Austin; Long Island/Islip, N.Y.; Providence; San Antonio
Oklahoma City: Denver; Orlando; San Diego
Ontario, Calif.: Austin; Chicago O’Hare; Denver
Orlando: Buffalo; Cancun, Mexico; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Oklahoma City; San Antonio; Tulsa
Palm Springs, Calif.: Denver
Pensacola, Fla.: Denver
Phoenix: Austin; San Antonio
Providence: Charlotte; Fort Myers, Fla.; Miami; New Orleans; Raleigh/Durham; Tampa
Raleigh/Durham: Austin; Cincinnati; Kansas City; Providence
Reno: Denver
St. Louis: Tampa
Salt Lake City: Las Vegas
San Antonio: Cincinnati; New Orleans; Orlando; Phoenix; San Diego; San Jose, Calif.
San Diego: Oklahoma City; San Antonio; Tulsa
San Jose, Calif.: Austin; Denver; Las Vegas; San Antonio
San Juan, Puerto Rico: Atlanta; Miami; Milwaukee
Seattle: Cincinnati
Spokane, Wash.: Denver
Tampa: Buffalo; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis; Long Island/Islip, N.Y.; Kansas City; Milwaukee; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Nashville; Providence; St. Louis
Trenton, N.J.: Miami; Minneapolis/St. Paul
Tulsa: Denver; Orlando; San Diego
West Palm Beach: Long Island/Islip, N.Y.
For a full list of departure dates, see the USA Today article here.
Landing Thoughts:
I am ecstatic to see Frontier expand this much. The impact this will have on legacy carriers will be noticeable, and hopefully we will begin to see prices going down on many of these routes. I am hopeful this will also push legacy carriers to improve their basic economy offering to make it better than what Ultra Low Cost Carriers offer. We will have to wait and see how much this will impact US aviation.
What do you think? Do you live in any of the cities that are getting new service? Are you planning on taking advantage of these new routes? Let us know!
All images from Wikimedia Commons
