Frontier Airlines is expanding its international network and adding flights to Barbados and Santiago.
Yesterday, Frontier Airlines announced new flights from Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Bridgetown, Barbados, and Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Both routes will operate three times weekly, with flights to Cibao International Airport (STI) starting on June 14 and to Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI) on July 3. As Frontier is an ultra-low-cost carrier, fares on the new routes start at $59 one-way.
In addition to the new international routes, Frontier is launching flights between Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Miami International Airport, a route between two American Airlines hubs and dominated by the Fort-Worth based airline. This route, like the ones above, will operate thrice weekly but has a starting fare of $29 one-way.
“As we anticipate an exciting and potentially record-breaking summer travel season, we’re thrilled to further expand our route map. More destinations served means more affordable and convenient travel options for consumers across the U.S., Caribbean and beyond.” – Josh Flyr, Vice President of Network and Operations Design, Frontier Airlines
One might think it odd that Frontier is launching flights from San Juan, but the airline recently announced it was launching a crew base from the Puerto Rican capital. The base is set to open in June and will be home to 90 pilots and 200 flight attendants.
At the time, Barry Biffle, the airline’s CEO, highlighted its appreciation for the Puerto Rican government in its negotiations to open the Frontier’s 13th crew base. He also highlighted the positive economic impact that will be brought to San Juan by employing more locals.
Frontier already operates several international flights from San Juan, which are some of the shortest routes in its network. A few weeks ago, Simple Flying analyzed the airline’s ten shortest routes, half of which are from San Juan. According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, Frontier will have five international flights in June; in July, that number will increase to six.
Starting on June 2, Frontier will begin flying to St. Maarten, home to Princess Juliana International Airport which is famous because of Maho Beach. Maho Beach is located right next to the airport (literally), and airplanes fly extremely low over the beach as they land.In addition to St. Maarten, Frontier flies to Cancun, Punta Cana, and Santo Domingo. As mentioned above, starting June 14, the airline will begin flying to Santiago.
Frontier offers several connections from Puerto Rico to the mainland US and even the US Virgin Islands. Several carriers operate the flight to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, but only Frontier and JetBlue deploy jet aircraft.
Frontier’s flight takes less than 20 minutes, and sometimes, it cruises at altitude for only five minutes. On the mainland, as seen in the map below, the airline flies as far west as Dallas and as far north as Boston and has several routes in between.