Frontier begins first of 15 routes from Newark

Frontier Airlines has launched its first services from Newark Liberty International as the ultra-low-cost carrier begins to ramp up its operations in the New York area.

The airline has opened four non-stop routes to Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando and San Juan in Puerto Rico. Orlando is twice daily, while the rest are daily.

A second tranche of flights from Newark will begin in December with service to Phoenix and Atlanta, as well as a second daily Miami flight. A seasonal service to Palm Beach is also being added.

In March and April 2020, Frontier then plans to launch routes to Cancun, Punta Cana, Tampa, Denver, Dallas Ft Worth, Ontario, Chicago O’Hare and Raleigh-Durham.

Tyri Squyres, vice president of marketing for Frontier Airlines, said: “Today is the first step in delivering on our mission to lower the cost of flying for the greater Newark community.”

Frontier currently flies five routes from New York LaGuardia to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, Cincinnati Northern Kentucky, Denver, Orlando and Miami. However, chief executive Barry Biffle believes the airlines is “underrepresented” in the area.

The slots at Newark have been made available following Southwest’s decision to shift its regional operations to La Guardia. Its ended operations from Newark at the start of November.

Frontier’s routes from Newark will avoid the peak afternoon departure bank, which it hopes will reduce the risk of delays and help to keep costs down.

The carrier operates 94 aircraft, comprising six Airbus A319s, 20 A320-200s, 48 A320-200neos and 20 A321-200s. It also has 101 A320-200neos on order, alongside 49 A321-200neos and 18 A321XLRs.

The A321XLR order was placed by Frontier’s parent Indigo Partners at the Paris Air Show 2019. The model has a range of around 8,700 km, which is 15 per cent longer than the A321LR.

Speaking in June, Biffle said the addition of the long-range variant would enable it to fly from east to west coast in the US and reach Hawaii with a full density, as well as exploring international opportunities in Europe and South America.

He added: “We cannot go coast-to-coast in the United States. The furthest we can fly is Philadelphia to Las Vegas. The range of this aircraft enables us to go from New York, Boston and Miami to all points in the western US and Hawaii.”