Frontier Airlines adds 3 new cities in 19-route expansion

Frontier Airlines will add three new cities to its route map as part of a broader 19-route expansion.

Frontier’s first flights from the new cities — Oakland; Cozumel, Mexico; and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands — will begin in February.

Frontier’s Oakland service will begin with three nonstop routes: Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix. The budget airline will add just one route each from both Cozumel (to Denver) and St. Thomas (to Orlando).

Overall, Frontier’s new routes skew toward destinations where travelers have access to the great outdoors with options for social distancing . Leisure cities especially beach and warm-weather destinations — places like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Southern California, Florida and the Caribbean — feature heavily in the new service. That mirrors trends seen at other big carriers during the pandemic.

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Individually, Orlando and the Southern California city of Ontario were the biggest winners in Frontier’s announcement. Each landed seven new routes.

Frontier’s new service also included three intra-state routes, with two in California (Ontario-Sacramento and Ontario-San Francisco) and one in Florida (Orlando-Miami).

Frontier’s announcement came hours after Allegiant — another of the big U.S. ultra-low-cost carriers — announced its own 15-route expansion that included two new cities.

More: TPG exclusive: Frontier Airlines CEO says ‘it’s time to fly,’ fate of recovery rests with travelers

Frontier did not detail any cities losing service, though the airline is notoriously quick to exit markets that do not perform to its expectations.

All 19 of the routes are scheduled to run on a seasonal basis. A full list is below.

Denver (DEN)

Cozumel, Mexico (CZM): Saturday-only service begins Feb. 13.

Oakland (OAK): Four weekly flights begin Feb. 4. Service moves to daily beginning March 11.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (PVR): Twice weekly service (Thursdays and Sundays) begins Feb. 11.

More about Denver: Southwest Airlines is getting more gates at Denver Airport

More about Denver: How United Airlines’ Denver hub got to 700 flights

Oakland (OAK)

Denver (DEN): Four weekly flights begin Feb. 4. Service moves to daily beginning March 11.

Las Vegas (LAS): Two weekly flights begin Feb. 5. Service increases to four weekly flights on March 11.

Phoenix (PHX): Two weekly flights begin Feb. 5. Service increases to four weekly flights on March 11.

Ontario, California (ONT)

Chicago O’Hare (ORD): Four weekly flights begin May 13.

Las Vegas (LAS): Four weekly flights begin Feb 11.

Miami (MIA): Four weekly flights begin April 12.

Orlando (MCO): Four weekly flights begin Feb. 11.

Elsewhere in Southern California: What pandemic? Palm Springs is booming with new flight, but is it sustainable?

Phoenix (PHX): Two weekly flights begin Feb. 11. Service increases to four weekly flights on March 11.

Sacramento (SMF): Two weekly flights begin March 12. Service increases to four weekly flights on May 10.

San Francisco (SFO): Two weekly flights begin March 11. Service increases to four weekly flights on May 13.

Orlando (MCO)

Cancun, Mexico (CUN): Four weekly flights begin Feb. 11.

Miami (MIA): Daily service begins Feb. 11.

Ontario, California (ONT): Four weekly flights begin Feb. 11.

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ): Two weekly flights begin Feb. 11.

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (STT): Two weekly flights begin Feb. 19.

More: Opening America: State-by-state guide to coronavirus reopening

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ): Two weekly flights begin Feb. 11.

Wilmington, Delaware (ILG): Three weekly flights begin Feb 11.

Sacramento, California (SMF)

Ontario, California (ONT): Two weekly flights begin March 12. Service increases to four weekly flights on May 10.

Phoenix (PHX): Two weekly flights begin Feb. 11. Service increases to four weekly flights on March 11.