When we hear complaints about their flights on Frontier Airlines, what we don’t hear is that customers want more of them. Yet the discount airline plans to expand its routes, running twice as many flights by this time next year.
CNN reports (warning: auto-play video at that link) that those new routes have been chosen to overlap territory where large traditional airlines dominate, and give the airline more flights to popular tourist spots in Florida like Fort Myers, Tampa, Miami, and Orlando.
Once all of the planned expansion routes are up and running, only Southwest will have more routes to Florida than Frontier.
More flights, not better service
Low-cost carriers like Frontier are focused on expansion and on flying more people rather than squeezing more revenue out of each one, and the airline does fly planes that are more full on average than other airlines. Only fellow discount carrier Spirit had lower customer satisfaction scores in the last American Customer Satisfaction Index report.
A focus on cost-cutting and high volume can lead to cascading problems, though. The airline failed to cancel flights during a massive snowstorm late last year, stranding passengers at its hub in Denver. Frontier’s pilots released a statement blaming the mess on bad management, specifically, the company’s “misplaced focus on cost-cutting that has placed Frontier near the very bottom of the industry In operational performance and customer satisfaction.”
That quality travel will be available to 90% of air travelers in the continental United States once the airline completes its expansion.
Frontier made a chart of which new cities and routes became available for purchase this week.
| City | On sale 7/18 | On sale soon for Spring 2018 travel |
|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque, NM | Denver | N/A |
| Atlanta | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Islip, NY |
| Austin, TX | Ontario, CA., Phoenix, New Orleans, Raleigh/Durham | Charlotte NC; Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; San Jose, CA. |
| Boise, ID | Denver | |
| Buffalo, NY | Fort Myers, FL.; Miami; Orlando, FL.; Tampa, FL.; | Denver |
| Calgary, Alberta, Canada | Denver | |
| Charlotte | Austin, Islip | Providence, RI |
| Charleston, SC | Denver | |
| Cedar Rapids, IA | Orlando, FL. | |
| Cancun | Kansas City, MO.; Orlando | |
| Chicago-O’Hare | Islip; Ontario | |
| Cincinnati | Miami | Austin, Jacksonville, FL.; Raleigh/Durham; San Antonio; Seattle |
| Columbus | Tampa | Austin |
| Denver | Albuquerque; Oklahoma City, OK; Ontario, CA; Palm Springs, CA; Reno, NV; San Jose, CA | Boise, Idaho; Buffalo; Calgary, Alberta; Charleston; El Paso, Texas; Fargo, ND; Fresno, CA; Grand Rapids, MI; Jackson Hole, WY; Jacksonville, FL; Little Rock, AR; Louisville, KY; Pensacola, FL; Spokane, WA; Tulsa, OK. |
| Detroit | Miami | Islip |
| El Paso | Denver | |
| Fargo | Denver | |
| Fresno | Denver | |
| Fort Myers | Buffalo, Colorado Springs, Islip, Kansas City, Nashville, Providence | |
| Grand Rapids | Orlando | Denver |
| Indianapolis | Tampa | |
| Islip | Fort Myers, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Tampa, West Palm Beach, FL. | Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago–O’Hare, Detroit |
| Jackson Hole | Denver | |
| Jacksonville | Denver, Cincinnati | |
| Kansas City | Cancun**, Fort Myers, Tampa | Raleigh/Durham |
| Knoxville | Orlando | |
| Las Vegas | Salt Lake City, San Jose | |
| Little Rock | Denver | |
| Louisville | Denver | |
| Miami | Buffalo; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Detroit; Islip; Milwaukee; Providence; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Trenton, NJ. | |
| Minneapolis | Tampa | Islip; Trenton |
| Buffalo, NY | Fort Myers, FL.; Miami; Orlando, FL.; Tampa, Fla.; | Denver |
| Milwaukee | Miami; Tampa | |
| Nashville | Fort Myers; Tampa | |
| New Orleans | Austin; Islip; Providence; San Antonio | |
| Oklahoma City | Denver; Orlando | San Diego |
| Ontario | Austin; Denver | Chicago – O’Hare |
| Orlando | Buffalo; Cancun**; Cedar Rapids; Grand Rapids; Knoxville; Oklahoma City | San Antonio; Tulsa |
| Palm Springs | Denver | |
| Pensacola | Denver | |
| Phoenix | Austin, San Antonio | |
| Providence | Fort Myers; Miami; New Orleans; Tampa | Charlotte; Raleigh/Durham |
| Raleigh/Durham | Raleigh/Durham | Cincinnati; Kansas City; Providence |
| Reno | Denver | |
| St. Louis | Tampa | |
| Salt Lake City | Las Vegas | |
| San Antonio | New Orleans; Phoenix; San Diego | Cincinnati; Orlando, San Jose |
| San Diego | San Antonio | Oklahoma City; Tulsa |
| San Jose | Denver; Las Vegas | Austin; San Antonio |
| San Juan, Puerto Rico | Atlanta, Miami | |
| Seattle | Cincinnati | |
| Spokane | Denver | |
| Tampa | Buffalo, Colorado Springs, Columbus, Indianapolis, Islip, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, Providence, St. Louis | |
| Trenton | Miami | Minneapolis |
| Tulsa | Denver, Orlando, San Diego | |
| West Palm Beach | Islip |
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
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