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.

Frontier Airlines A321

Frontier Airlines A321

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.

Frontier Airlines A321

Frontier Airlines A321

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