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Frontier Airlines is plotting an aggressive expansion into Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean — and it’s doubling down on fast growth at the world’s busiest airport.
The budget carrier this week announced a 22-route expansion, including brand-new service to the Turks and Caicos and a return to Nassau in the Bahamas for the first time in two years.
This barrage of nearly two dozen new flights came after the airline last week unveiled an additional 20 routes — many of which intersected with low-cost competitor Spirit Airlines, currently embroiled in bankruptcy proceedings.
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As part of this latest expansion, Frontier will add seven new and returning destinations out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), which the carrier earlier this year identified as one of its biggest airports for growth.
The ultra-low-cost carrier will add other new flights to popular vacation destinations, such as Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico and St. Maarten in the Caribbean, and bolster flights to a range of additional countries in Central America, including Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
Among the more interesting additions is nonstop service between New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and the Luis Muñoz MarÃn International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Normally, LaGuardia’s “perimeter rule” would prevent that 1,608-mile route from being added. However, Frontier will fly the route only on Saturdays — which are exempted from distance restrictions.
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All of the flights will launch between November and December, with service to some tropical islands launching just ahead of the holidays.
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Frontier’s 22 routes announced this week
Here’s the full rundown of Frontier’s 22 new routes unveiled this week:
| Route | Launch date | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| ATL to Memphis International Airport (MEM) | Nov. 20 | Twice weekly |
| ATL to St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) | Dec. 6 | Weekly |
| ATL to Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) in the Bahamas | Dec. 13 | Weekly |
| ATL to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) | Dec. 19 | Twice weekly |
| ATL to Providenciales International Airport (PLS) in Turks and Caicos | Dec. 20 | Weekly |
| ATL to Licenciado Gustavo DÃaz Ordaz International Airport (PVR) in Puerto Vallarta | Dec. 20 | Weekly |
| ATL to San Jose del Cabo International Airport (SJD) | Dec. 20 | Weekly |
| Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Guatemala City’s La Aurora International Airport (GUA) | Dec. 20 | Weekly |
| DFW to San Salvador’s El Salvador International Airport (SAL) | Dec. 21 | Twice weekly |
| Spokane International Airport (GEG) to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) | Nov. 23 | Twice weekly |
| Washington’s Dulles International Airport (IAD) to SAL | Dec. 18 | Daily |
| Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) to SJD | Dec. 20 | Weekly |
| LGA to SJU | Dec. 20 | Weekly |
| Orlando International Airport (MCO) to SAL | Dec. 20 | Weekly |
| MCO to GUA | Dec. 21 | Twice weekly |
| MCO to Juan SantamarÃa International Airport (SJO) in San Jose, Costa Rica | Dec. 20 | Weekly |
| MCO to Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport (SAP) in San Pedro Sula, Honduras | Dec. 20 | Weekly |
| Miami International Airport (MIA) to SAL | Dec. 19 | Three times weekly |
| MIA-SAP | Dec. 20 | Weekly |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) | Nov. 23 | Twice weekly |
| Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to Cibao International Airport in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic | Dec. 18 | Twice weekly |
| PHX to Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) | Nov. 22 | Twice weekly |
Resuming flights
Several of these new flights are routes Frontier has operated in the past.
It last flew five of the 22 routes earlier this decade: ATL-NAS, LAS-SJD, MCO-SAL, MCO-SJO and MIA-SAL. Meanwhile, Frontier last operated another three in the mid-2010s: ATL-MEM, ATL-MKE and MSP-ORD.
Bottom line
This expansion comes as the airline is making a clear push to be the budget carrier of choice in a wide range of U.S. and Central American markets, especially amid Spirit’s precocious financial situation.
“The announcement further supports the airline’s commitment to become the leading low-fare carrier in the top 20 U.S. metros,” said Josh Flyr, Frontier’s vice president of network and operations design, in a statement.
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