It didn’t take long for another airline to jump into Newark International after Southwest Airlines announced it would cease service at the airport.
USA Today reports that Frontier Airlines has announced plans to add 15 new routes at Newark, including daily nonstop services to Las Vegas, Orlando, Phoenix, Atlanta, Chicago, and Dallas. Flights will launch in November, December, and early 2020.
Airline officials said the Newark debut is the biggest in the airline’s history. CEO Barry Biffle said Frontier has long wanted to serve the New York metropolitan region and that Southwest’s exit from Newark provided an opportunity.
Southwest is shifting its regional operations to La Guardia International Airport in November, opening up takeoff and landing slots at Newark for Frontier.
While Southwest said its Newark flights were not profitable, Biffle said Frontier could be more successful because of its low operating costs.
“We are the most underrepresented of any airline relative to size in New York,” said Biffle. “We’re really excited about access.”
Frontier currently flies to other regional airports like Trenton and Philadelphia.
