Frontier returns to Bay Area airport, picks up 2 routes vacated by Spirit Airlines
Frontier Airlines is making its latest push to fill the void left by Spirit Airlines.
The Denver-based budget airline on Tuesday revealed it's adding two western U.S. routes formerly served by its defunct low-cost competitor. That includes making its return to one Bay Area airport for the first time in three years.
Later this summer, Frontier will re-launch service from Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK), where it last flew in 2023.
The carrier will make its return east of the bay with nonstop flights to one of the most tried-and-true markets of low-cost flying: Las Vegas.
It's a route Spirit flew in the months prior to its collapse on May 1.
Frontier is also adding new Sin City service from Boise, Idaho — another route Spirit used to fly.
The move comes as the airline looks to win over customers hoping to fly on a budget in the wake of Spirit's collapse.
"We are laser-focused on redefining what consumers can expect from low-fare travel," Frontier vice president of network and operations design Josh Flyr said in a statement announcing the news.
Read more: Spirit is gone. Can the other budget airlines survive?
Details: Frontier's new routes
Here's a quick rundown of the two new (well, returning) routes Frontier will launch later this year:
| Route | Launch date | Details |
|---|---|---|
OAK to Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) | Aug. 20 | 11 times weekly |
Boise Airport (BOI) to LAS | Sept. 10 | Four times weekly |
A much-needed boost for Oakland
Frontier is leaning heavily into its returning Oakland-Las Vegas route, which it'll fly 11 times each week. I'd expect to see the most frequencies on high-demand leisure travel days like Fridays and Sundays.
Frontier operated Las Vegas service during its previous stint at OAK.
I'll be curious to see if the carrier adds additional service from the airport. This time two years ago, Spirit had a decent-sized presence east of the bay, flying from Oakland to Las Vegas, San Diego, Burbank and Orange County, California; it also operated transcontinental service to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).
Frontier's return to Oakland is good news for the airport, too, which has seen both Spirit's folding and a notable pullback by Southwest Airlines, which has deprioritized OAK in recent years.
This year, Southwest's total departures from the airport were set to be down over 20% versus two years ago, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Replacing Spirit in Boise
Oakland isn't the only place Frontier is filling Spirit's void.
Spirit also served Boise-Las Vegas service prior to its shutdown.
Frontier already overlapped with its former top rival on more than 100 routes, executives said last month — "uniquely positioning us to recapture the demand they left behind," CEO James Dempsey said.
Dempsey in May said the carrier would be "disciplined" in taking over routes (or assets) left behind by Spirit as the airline liquidates.
Bottom line
While it's been a few years since Frontier has flown from Oakland, the carrier hasn't been a stranger to the Bay Area as a whole.
The airline currently operates service from both San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC).
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- Spirit is gone. Can the other budget airlines survive?