The sun rises over Castillo San Felipe del Morro - Puerto Rico. (Photo by: Edwin Remsberg)
The number one fare cutting airline, already the carrier with the most capacity in Puerto Rico, has bigger plans.
In Puerto Rico, “We see a massive opportunity for flights to the United States, “ Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said Thursday on the carrier’s first quarter earnings call. “San Juan provides a gateway to the broader Caribbean region.”
President James Dempsey added that in Puerto Rico, “Our cost basis gives us a real opportunity to to stimulate that market, where there been very high fares for a long time.”
Frontier has about 8% of its capacity in Puerto Rico, where it operates more flights than any other carrier. By July, it will serve 26 destinations from San Juan as well as two Florida destinations each from Aguadilla and Ponce. It has more than doubled Puerto Rico capacity since 2019. The number of destinations was 17 in June 2023.
The carrier has three major initiatives planned for San Juan this summer. They include opening a San Juan crew base, boosting inter-Caribbean service and, most ambitiously, entering the heavily served San Juan-New York market.
The crew base, slated to open in June, is expected to employ 90 pilots and 200 flight attendants with a year. Frontier’s new emphasis on out and back flying means many will be able to start and end their days at home.
Inter-Caribbean service will include San Juan to Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic on June 14 and Barbados on July 3: Both flights were announced last week, a sign of Frontier’s frenetic pace of route openings in 2024.
In total, a half dozen Caribbean markets, also including St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. Maarten, will open this summer.
Frontier’s San Juan-New York service will include new service to JFK on June 6 and to Newark on June 27. JFK flights will be twice daily and will mark Frontier’s first service at JFK.
Frontier typically introduces new routes with low introductory fares, which include $59 on both San Juan-New York routes.
JFK-San Juan is already served by both JetBlue and Delta, which respectively have six daily departures and three daily departures, so the new total will be 11 daily departures.
In Newark, Frontier will fly once or twice daily, with 11 weekly flights. It will compete with three daily United flights, two daily JetBlue flights, and a daily Frontier flight, so the total will be six to seven daily departures.
Frontier has shown no qualms about flying on major carrier routes, even hub to hub routes such as Charlotte to Philadelphia and Dallas. On the earnings call, Biffle said, “One person’s great opportunity for high revenue opportunities is another airline’s definition of incursion.”
Frontier’s growth in Puerto Rico was a topic on JetBlue’s earnings call in April. Dave Clark, head of JetBlue revenue and planning, said that in the key JetBlue markets of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, “We are 100% committed to winning, competing and maintaining leadership.” JetBlue passengers include not only beach goers, but also the VFR or visiting friends and relatives segment. Clark said VFR faces less pressure than beach destinations and “is holding up well.”
