Frontier Airlines is expanding its domestic routes with the addition of 15 new routes between October 7 and 12. This analysis is based on data from Cirium Diio and excludes seasonal resumptions and routes that have simply restarted this year. In addition, Allegiant, Breeze, and Southwest have also started 13 new routes in the first three days of October.
New Routes Launched on October 7 & 8
On October 7, Frontier began operating flights from Newark to Chicago Midway three times a week. This marks the first time the airline has offered flights between these two airports, with Southwest previously serving the route up to seven times a day until 2019. Other carriers have also operated this route in the past, but Southwest pulled out of Newark completely in 2019 in order to focus on LaGuardia.
The following day, Frontier added new routes from New York JFK to Chicago O’Hare, Denver, and Dallas/Fort Worth to El Paso. This marks the first time the airline has served all three of these markets. The JFK-O’Hare route now has four operators, making it the first time in the past 20 years that there have been multiple operators on this route. On JFK-Denver, Frontier joins JetBlue and Delta, with three carriers serving the route for the first time since American pulled out in 2018. Lastly, the Dallas/Fort Worth-El Paso route last had two operators in 2005 when Delta closed its Dallas hub.
New Routes Launched on October 9 & 10
Frontier’s strategy is to offer low fares in markets that are already served by higher-priced carriers. In contrast, other airlines such as Allegiant, Avelo, and Breeze typically focus on unserved airport pairs. Frontier also offers sub-daily flights, with two to three flights a week becoming increasingly common. This means that passengers may have to compromise on flight frequency in order to get lower fares. The eight new routes launched on October 9 and 10 exemplify this approach.
One notable addition is the Denver-Corpus Christi route, which has no direct competition. The US Department of Transportation reports that this route has not previously had regular flights, with only 56 daily passengers in the past 12 months. However, including the nearby Harlingen airport, there were 130 daily passengers, making it a potential growth market for Frontier.
Start Date
Route
Frontier’s Typical Frequency*
Has Frontier Served It Before?
Comments About Airport Pair Operations
October 9
Dallas/Fort Worth-Charleston (SC)
Two weekly
No
Against American. The first time ever that two airlines operated simultaneously from Dallas/Fort Worth.
October 9
Dallas/Fort Worth-Tucson
Two weekly
No
Faces American. It has been 20 years since two airlines have operated concurrently.
October 9
Denver-Cor