Between October 7 and 12, some 15 domestic routes will welcome the ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier. This does not include seasonal resumptions or markets that operated earlier this year and have simply restarted. This analysis is based on examining its full schedule using Cirium Diio data. In the first three days of October, Allegiant, Breeze, and Southwest began 13 routes.
Frontier’s network now includes Corpus Christi for the first time. The Texas airport, which is the gateway to a coastal area for tourism, is served from 
Denver. Elsewhere, the airline has returned to Tulsa for the first time since 2022. It, too, is served from Colorado’s most populous city.
These 4 Routes Began On October 7 & 8
On Tuesday, October 7, Frontier took off from 
Newark to Chicago Midway (it is served three times weekly). It is the first time the carrier has had flights between the two airports. Southwest previously served this airport pair until 2019, with up to seven daily flights. Historically, other carriers operated. Southwest pulled out of Newark completely in 2019 to consolidate at LaGuardia.
The next day, Frontier inaugurated 
New York JFK to Chicago O’Hare (mainly four weekly), JFK to Denver (mainly three weekly), and Dallas/Fort Worth to El Paso (mainly three weekly). It was the first time the carrier had served all three markets.
Frontier joins American, Delta, and JetBlue between JFK and O’Hare, which is the world’s busiest airport by aircraft movements. It is the first time the airport pair has had four operators, at least in the past 20 years. It faces JetBlue and Delta on JFK-Denver. That market hasn’t had three carriers since American pulled out in 2018. Finally, Dallas/Fort Worth-El Paso last had two operators in 2005, when Delta pulled out as a consequence of closing its Dallas hub.
These 8 Routes Took Off On October 9 & 10
Frontier’s network strategy is, by and large, to have comparatively low fares in markets that are already served, particularly with one higher-priced operator. In contrast, Allegiant, Avelo, Breeze, etc., ordinarily seek out unserved airport pairs. Unlike the troubled Spirit, which has historically served routes daily, Frontier tends to have sub-daily offerings, which increasingly means two or three flights a week. Passengers must compromise to get lower fares. The eight routes that launched on October 9 and 10 epitomize this approach.
Notice Denver to Corpus Christi. It is the only market, out of the eight, to have no direct competition. Indeed, the US Department of Transportation indicates that it has not previously had regular flights. In the 12 months to June 2025, the DOT indicates that 56 local passengers flew daily. It’ll be easy to grow that volume with nonstop flights and pretty low fares. If Harlingen, a couple of hours away, is included, there were 130 daily passengers.
|
Start Date |
Route |
Frontier’s Typical Frequency* |
Has Frontier Served It Before? |
Comments About Airport Pair Operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
October 9 |
Dallas/Fort Worth-Charleston (SC) |
Two weekly |
No |
Against American. The first time ever that two airlines operated simultaneously from Dallas/Fort Worth. Southwest runs from Love |
|
October 9 |
Dallas/Fort Worth-Tucson |
Two weekly |
No |
Faces American. It has been 20 years since two airlines have operated concurrently. Southwest is from Love |
|
October 9 |
Denver-Corpus Christi |
Two weekly |
No |
No other airline |
|
October 9 |
Phoenix-Kansas City |
Two weekly |
Yes (until April 2024) |
Faces American and Southwest |
|
October 9 |
Salt Lake City-Santa Ana |
Two weekly |
No |
Against Delta. Southwest operated until 2022 |
|
October 10 |
Atlanta-Omaha |
Two weekly |
No |
Faces Delta. Southwest pulled out earlier in 2025 |
|
October 10 |
Phoenix-San Antonio |
Three weekly |
Yes (until August 2018) |
Against American and Southwest. It last had three airlines seven years ago |
|
October 10 |
Phoenix-St Louis |
Two weekly |
Yes (until August 2024) |
Faces American and Southwest. Allegiant had Mesa-Belleville flights until 2023 |
|
* October-December |
** October-December |
Southwest operated from Atlanta to Omaha between November 2020 and April 2025. Flights ended due to that carrier’s big reduction at the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic. Frontier sensed an opportunity. The US DOT shows it had 324 daily local passengers between July 2024 and June 2025, of which Southwest had almost a quarter. Frontier wishes to capture that. While Southwest usually had four weekly flights to a daily operation (partly for connectivity over Atlanta), Frontier will have two services a week. Will it capture enough of the local traffic?
These 3 Routes Will Start On October 11 & 12
On October 11, Frontier will inaugurate flights from Tampa to both Kansas City (weekly to three weekly) and St. Louis (weekly to two weekly). The former was previously on its map until 2018, while the latter was served until 2023. It will face Southwest in both markets, with a choice of two nonstop operators again.
Finally, on October 12, Frontier will take off from Denver to Tulsa (mainly two weekly), returning to the route for the first time since 2022. It’ll mark its return to that city in Oklahoma. Its frames were previously seen on the route between 2005 and 2010 and again from 2018 to 2022. Then, as now, it will face Southwest and United. Will it be the third time lucky for Frontier?
