Frontier Airlines is going after Spirit customers with 20 new routes
The budget airline on Tuesday announced 20 new routes beginning late fall, many of which overlap with Spirit Airlines’ major markets
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Frontier Airlines is going after its rival’s customers.
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The budget airline on Tuesday announced 20 new routes beginning in late fall, many of which overlap with Spirit Airlines’ major markets. The new routes will include departures from Fort Lauderdale, Detroit, Baltimore, Houston, Charlotte, and Dallas. Introductory fares will start at $29.
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In a press release, the company said the move is part of its commitment to becoming the number one low-fare carrier in the top 20 U.S. metro areas. “As industry capacity adjusts, we want to ensure consumers in those markets continue to have affordable flight options,” CEO Barry Biffle said in the release.
Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines is facing a bleak year — and possible extinction. Months after emerging from bankruptcy, the airline raised some major concerns about its ability to stay in business. In its second-quarter earnings, the company reported a $245.8 million net loss on $1.02 billion operating revenue.
Spirit pointed to adverse market conditions, elevated domestic capacity, and continued weak demand for domestic leisure travel as major obstacles moving forward. The company is attempting to address these concerns by enhancing products and furloughing pilots, among other measures, but if these steps are unsuccessful, Spirit’s management said it’s likely the company could halt operations within the next year.
Frontier has attempted to merge with Spirit multiple times. The first attempt came in 2022, but Frontier was outbid by JetBlue, whose merger with the budget airline also failed. Last October, reports surfaced that Spirit and Frontier were again discussing a merger, which at the time sent Spirit stock soaring.
Both airlines have struggled the past few years and have adjusted their models to attract more customers. Spirit, famous for being bare-bones, added first class seating in 2024. Frontier followed suit, announcing in December that its airplanes will have first-class seating by late 2025.
— Ben Kesslen contributed to this article.