Another week, another round of route announcements from Frontier Airlines.
After unveiling dozens of new flights in recent weeks as part of an apparent shift in strategy in 2024, the Denver-based ultra-low-cost airline is focusing on the Midwest.
In the past 24 hours, Frontier unveiled plans to expand its presence at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG).
On Wednesday, Frontier announced eight new routes from Cleveland, all launching this spring. These are in addition to two new routes the airline unveiled last month.
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Routes part of Frontier’s buildout in northeastern Ohio include flights to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).
The announcement comes a day after Frontier also announced a half-dozen new destinations it will serve from Cincinnati airport, which is just across the border in Kentucky.
New destinations from Cincinnati include Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Portland International Jetport (PWM) in Maine and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT).
All new routes will be launched this spring.
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The shaking up of the routes continues
Frontier’s increased focus in Ohio is just the latest example of the airline shifting some of its focus away from prominent leisure travel markets.
Warm-weather vacation cities such as Orlando and Las Vegas have long been a mainstay of budget airlines’ business models. However, these cities have fallen out of favor with some airlines in recent months, as rising capacity has lowered fares and made winning customers more competitive.
During the company’s earnings call last week, Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said the airline is shifting some of its focus to markets where it can attract travelers who might be flying to visit family and friends but not necessarily going on vacation.
This network shake-up has seen the airline unveil dozens of new routes in recent weeks, including some of (and in some cases between) The largest hubs of larger airlines.
Frontier will offer 79% more seats from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in the second quarter of 2024, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
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Frontier’s seat count in Charlotte’s second quarter will increase 72% over Q2 2023, with a 92% increase over Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and a 127% increase over compared to New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA).
At the same time, seats will drop 11% at Orlando International Airport (MCO), 30% at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and 17% at Cancun International Airport (CUN) in the second quarter, Cirium data shows.
That said, there are a handful of new routes that the airline is clearly launching with vacationers in mind, including a pair of new flights to Florida and another to a popular East Coast beach destination.
Frontier’s new Cincinnati routes
Here’s the full rundown of Frontier’s newly announced routes from Cincinnati:
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) — starts May 16; works four times a week
- CVG to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) — starts May 16; works four times a week
- CVG to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston – starts May 17; works four times a week
- CVG to Portland International Jetport (PWM) in Maine – starts May 21; works three times a week
- CVG to Pensacola International Airport (PNS) in Florida – starts May 21; works three times a week
- CVG to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) — starts May 16; works four times a week
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These are almost all-new routes for Frontier, with one exception: It previously flew between Cincinnati and Fort Lauderdale before the coronavirus pandemic, with the most recent such flights flown in 2020, Cirium shows.
In addition to these six routes, Frontier previously announced new service on LGA and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) from Cincinnati opens in April and May respectively.
This certainly represents a big step forward in Cincinnati for Frontier. This summer, daily departures will increase by 57% compared to last year, the airline announced on Tuesday. All told, it will serve a total of 20 nonstop destinations from northern Kentucky.
Frontier’s new Cleveland routes
Here’s the full list of Frontier’s new routes from Cleveland:
- Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston – starts May 17; works four times a week
- CLE to Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) in Florida – starts May 22; works four times a week
- CLE to Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) in South Carolina – starts May 21; works three times a week
- CLE to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) — starts May 16; works three times a week
- CLE to Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) in Georgia – starts May 16; works three times a week
- CLE to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) — starts May 16; works three times a week
- CLE to Pensacola International Airport (PNS) in Florida – starts May 16; works three times a week
- CLE to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) — starts May 16; works three times a week
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That’s in addition to Frontier’s MSP and LGA route that the airline announced last month.
While most of these routes are new, Frontier has some history on some of them. According to data from Cirium, the plane already flew from Cleveland to Houston years ago in 2017. Frontier also operated a route from Cleveland to Austin before the pandemic in 2019.
Following the launch of these routes, Frontier will serve a total of 30 destinations from Cleveland, with daily departures increasing 38% this summer compared to last year, the airline said.
That Frontier would choose to expand its footprint in Cleveland isn’t terribly surprising, considering it announced plans to open a new crew base in the city last fall. That base, Biffle said Wednesday, will open in March.
“Our growth in Cleveland is skyrocketing,” Biffle said in a statement, noting that the base will help support the airline’s “rapidly growing operations” there.