One other week, one other spherical of route bulletins from Frontier Airways.
After unveiling dozens of recent flights in current weeks as a part of an obvious technique shift in 2024, the Denver-based ultra-low-cost service is honing in on the Midwest.
Within the final 24 hours, Frontier has revealed plans to scale up its presence at Cleveland Hopkins Worldwide Airport (CLE) and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Worldwide Airport (CVG).
On Wednesday, Frontier introduced eight new routes out of Cleveland, all to launch this spring. These are on prime of two new routes the service unveiled final month.
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Among the many routes included in Frontier’s buildup in northeast Ohio are flights to Louis Armstrong New Orleans Worldwide Airport (MSY), Savannah/Hilton Head Worldwide Airport (SAV) and Salt Lake Metropolis Worldwide Airport (SLC).
The announcement comes a day after Frontier additionally introduced a half-dozen new locations it would serve from Cincinnati’s airport, which sits simply over the border in Kentucky.
New locations from Cincinnati embody Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS), Portland Worldwide Jetport (PWM) in Maine and Charlotte Douglas Worldwide Airport (CLT).
The entire new routes launch this spring.
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Route shake-up continues
Frontier’s heightened focus in Ohio is simply the newest instance of the service shifting a few of its focus away from distinguished leisure journey markets.
Heat-weather trip cities like Orlando and Las Vegas have lengthy been a stalwart of the finances airline enterprise mannequin. Nevertheless, these cities have, in some methods, fallen out of favor with some carriers in current months amid surging capability that is pushed down fares and made profitable over prospects extra aggressive.
On the corporate’s earnings name final week, Frontier CEO Barry Biffle stated the airline is shifting a few of its focus to markets the place it could possibly entice vacationers who could also be flying to go to household and associates however not essentially vacationing.
That community shake-up has seen the airline unveil dozens of recent routes in current weeks, together with a number of from (and in some instances between) bigger carriers’ greatest hubs.
Throughout the second quarter of 2024, Frontier will supply 79% extra seats out of Dallas Fort Price Worldwide Airport (DFW), based on information from aviation analytics agency Cirium.
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Frontier’s Q2 seats from Charlotte will likely be up 72% from Q2 of 2023, with seats up 92% from Chicago’s O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD) and up 127% from New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA).
On the similar time, its second-quarter seats will drop 11% out of Orlando Worldwide Airport (MCO), 30% out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Worldwide Airport (FLL) and 17% from Cancun Worldwide Airport (CUN), Cirium information exhibits.
That stated, there are a handful of recent routes the airline is clearly launching with leisure vacationers in thoughts, together with a couple of new flights to Florida and one other to a well-liked East Coast seashore vacation spot.
Frontier’s new Cincinnati routes
This is the total rundown of Frontier’s newly introduced routes out of Cincinnati:
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Worldwide Airport (CVG) to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Worldwide Airport (FLL) — begins Could 16; operates 4 instances weekly
- CVG to Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS) — begins Could 16; operates 4 instances weekly
- CVG to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston — begins Could 17; operates 4 instances weekly
- CVG to Portland Worldwide Jetport (PWM) in Maine — begins Could 21; operates thrice weekly
- CVG to Pensacola Worldwide Airport (PNS) in Florida — begins Could 21; operates thrice weekly
- CVG to Charlotte Douglas Worldwide Airport (CLT) — begins Could 16; operates 4 instances weekly
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These are nearly solely new routes for Frontier, with one exception: It beforehand flew between Cincinnati and Fort Lauderdale earlier than the coronavirus pandemic, with the latest such flights flown in 2020, Cirium exhibits.
Along with these six routes, Frontier beforehand introduced new service to LGA and Minneapolis-St. Paul Worldwide Airport (MSP) out of Cincinnati to begin in April and Could, respectively.
This actually represents an enormous step up in Cincinnati for Frontier. This summer time, its day by day departures will likely be up 57% over final yr, the airline shared Tuesday. All informed, it would serve a complete of 20 nonstop locations from northern Kentucky.
Frontier’s new Cleveland routes
This is the total record of Frontier’s new routes out of Cleveland:
- Cleveland Hopkins Worldwide Airport (CLE) to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston — begins Could 17; operates 4 instances weekly
- CLE to Jacksonville Worldwide Airport (JAX) in Florida — begins Could 22; operates 4 instances weekly
- CLE to Myrtle Seashore Worldwide Airport (MYR) in South Carolina — begins Could 21; operates thrice weekly
- CLE to Austin-Bergstrom Worldwide Airport (AUS) — begins Could 16; operates thrice weekly
- CLE to Savannah/Hilton Head Worldwide Airport (SAV) in Georgia — begins Could 16; operates thrice weekly
- CLE to Salt Lake Metropolis Worldwide Airport (SLC) — begins Could 16; operates thrice weekly
- CLE to Pensacola Worldwide Airport (PNS) in Florida — begins Could 16; operates thrice weekly
- CLE to Baltimore/Washington Worldwide Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) — begins Could 16; operates thrice weekly
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That is on prime of Frontier’s MSP and LGA route the airline introduced final month.
Although most of those routes are new, Frontier has some historical past on a few them. It beforehand flew from Cleveland to Houston years in the past in 2017, based on Cirium information. Frontier additionally operated a Cleveland-to-Austin route earlier than the pandemic in 2019.
After launching these routes, Frontier will serve a complete of 30 locations from Cleveland, with day by day departures this summer time up 38% in comparison with final yr, the airline reported.
That Frontier would select to extend its footprint in Cleveland is just not terribly shocking contemplating it introduced plans final fall to open a brand new crew base within the metropolis. That base, Biffle stated Wednesday, will open in March.
“Our progress in Cleveland is hovering,” Biffle stated in an announcement, noting the bottom will assist assist the airline’s “quickly rising operations” there.
