Frontier Airlines CEO: Charlotte routes are thriving
Charlotte is a high-fare market and customers have been pleased with the added routes, CEO says
The following article appeared in the August 12, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Four months after big CLT expansion, Frontier CEO says almost all Charlotte routes ‘are doing overall really well’; cuts one
Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle says the carrier’s 14 Charlotte routes are doing fine, except for one which will operate for the last time on Monday.
The Charlotte routes, several of them added in April, “are doing overall really well,” Biffle said in an interview with The Charlotte Ledger. “We’ve been really pleased with them. Charlotte is a high-fare market, so those customers who need an option have flown them.”
In January, Frontier announced seven new cities served from CLT, making it the No. 2 airline from Charlotte by the number of destinations, behind American Airlines.
The one underperforming Frontier route is Charlotte-to-Trenton. The route is being pulled because “we were competing with ourselves in Philly,” Biffle said. While it will end Monday, Frontier will begin Charlotte-to-Boston service on Tuesday.
With the switch, Frontier continues to serve 14 cities from Charlotte. They are Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston Bush, Miami, New York/LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Orlando and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
On Frontier’s earnings call on Thursday, Biffle said Frontier fares are rising. “September fares have inflected positive,” because airlines have been reducing capacity, he said. “A lot of the cuts have already happened. The industry is responding to this capacity imbalance.”
Recent Frontier innovations include scheduling more out-and-back flying, less flying on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and launching 114 new routes, many on business/leisure routes such as Charlotte-to-Philadelphia rather than routes that primarily serve leisure passengers. —Ted Reed
Related Ledger article:
“Frontier adds flights to 7 cities from CLT” (Jan. 23)
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