Refocusing on the Caribbean, one of the Frontier’s strategies has been to optimize its networks by ceasing operations on less-performing routes. Nonetheless, these changes may be attributable to several things, including competition, operational efficiency as well as route profitability.
This year has seen quite an aggressive pace of change regarding Frontier’s network. While Frontier has been busy adding 71 new routes since January, it has cut 30. In its most recent cuts, it eliminated a total of eight domestic routes from its network, including the following:
- Ontario, California to El Paso, Texas
- San Diego, California to El Paso, Texas
- Phoenix to St. Louis
What’s most interesting is that Ontario and San Diego to El Paso routes have only been on since the beginning of November, so they didn’t last for long.
At the same time, Frontier isn’t pulling out of any cities altogether. For example, El Paso will continue to see service from Denver and Las Vegas. The airline characterized these as discontinuations, which may be seasonal.
While slashing some domestic routes, Frontier is beefing up its international presence. The carrier will add a new route from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Barbados, starting service three times a week and nonstop. This new route will represent Frontier’s first service to the island of Barbados.
That bolsters Frontier’s existing (Caribbean) network from SJU, adding flights to:
- St Maarten
- St Croix
- Santiago (Dominican Republic)
- Trinidad (starting soon)
This comes as a result of Frontier running a crew base out of San Juan and shows the carrier’s investment in growing its Caribbean hub.
On top of these network adjustments, Frontier has made several traveler-centric changes of late that include:
- Radical pricing transparency
- No change fees
These efforts are meant to make ticket booking hassle-free for customers and give more flexibility to travelers.
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Recent steps that the airline has taken testify that it is working hard to exploit its network, reducing poorly performing routes and turning focus towards developing markets, primarily of the Caribbean. In both cases, the firm does not give a reason or any background information related to the intent of the moves, which could have resulted from all factors ranging from route profitability and operational efficiency to market competition.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has transformed the aviation industry; thus, Frontier’s changes are an effect of continuous challenges and the current market conditions for LCCs.