Frontier Airlines Strikes Gold: How Four New Routes Could Upend the Ultra-Low-Cost Carrier Game Left Behind by Spirit
Is Frontier Airlines plotting a clever escapade across the skies this spring? With Spirit Airlines trimming its wings amid bankruptcy woes, Frontier’s CEO James Dempsey sees a golden window to swoop in and capture new territories. From Dallas Fort Worth to Newark and California’s sunny Orange County, plus flights linking Florida with D.C. and a fresh route between Las Vegas and Nashville—Frontier’s expansion feels like a strategic game of aerial chess. Spirit’s retreat from certain routes, especially in Las Vegas, is an open invitation, and Frontier’s ready to answer the call, upping seats where Spirit steps back. Meanwhile, Frontier isn’t just flying into new routes—they’re upgrading the in-flight experience and dreaming of Wi-Fi in the clouds by 2027. Curious about how this unfolding drama in budget airlines might reshape your next getaway? LEARN MORE.
Frontier Airlines will launch four new routes this spring, targeting destinations where CEO James Dempsey believes Spirit Airlines’ service cuts have created new opportunities. Spirit is in the process of emerging from a second bankruptcy.
Frontier will connect Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) with Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California; it’ll also connect Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) with Dulles International Airport (IAD) starting in May. In June, it’ll start operating flights between Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) and Nashville International Airport (BNA).
Here are the details of Frontier’s new routes:
- DFW-EWR: Daily from May 5
- DFW-SNA: Four times weekly from May 21
- IAD-FLL: Daily from May 21
- LAS-BNA: Four times weekly from June 11
Of those routes, two are currently served by Spirit: DFW-EWR and LAS-BNA. Starting this summer, the bankrupt discount airline will reduce its year-round service on the latter route to seasonal, according to schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Dempsey, speaking at an investor conference Tuesday, highlighted Las Vegas as a market where Frontier is seeing benefits from Spirit’s schedule reductions.
“The structural change and benefit to Frontier has happened,” he said. “You’re seeing it certainly in the West of the United States, where Spirit historically was connecting a lot of traffic through Vegas … You’ve seen them deconstruct that network quite considerably.”
Frontier seats are up 6% at LAS in the first quarter compared to 2025, while Spirit seats are down 68%, Cirium data shows.
Spirit recently unveiled plans to emerge from its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring as a significantly smaller airline. The South Florida-based carrier plans to shed nearly two-thirds of its fleet and focus its route map on four core markets: Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and the New York City area.
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Frontier has proposed merging with Spirit at least twice. JetBlue outbid it in 2022, and then another offer was rejected in 2025.
The new routes come at a time of change for Frontier. The Denver-based budget carrier has added an array of premium seats to its planes, from first class to UpFront Plus extra-legroom seats with blocked middle seats. It has also added more perks for elite Frontier Miles loyalty program members.
The traveler response to Frontier’s premium investments is “phenomenally good,” Dempsey said Tuesday. However, he sees further opportunity to increase loyalty among flyers by investing in and improving Frontier Miles as well as the airline’s cobranded credit card.
“We have a very immature loyalty program,” he said. “We haven’t invested in it as much as we should.”
In terms of inflight Wi-Fi, Dempsey said it would be coming to Frontier planes in 2027.
“We’re not in [travelers’] decision set if we don’t have connectivity,” he said.
Frontier has previously said it would unveil an inflight connectivity supplier sometime this year.
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