Frontier Airlines May Enter Hawaiian Skies

Frontier Airlines ordered a fleet of new, longer-range Airbus A321XLR in Paris this week, according to a June 20, 2019 news report. Airbus just announced its newest single-aisle model at the Paris Air Show and Frontier Airlines’ parent company ordered 50 of them, with delivery expected by 2024.

Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle remarked that the new jet “will enable Frontier to offer coast-to-coast service and explore exciting international and domestic opportunities, such as Hawai‘i, while continuing to deliver ‘Low Fares Done Right’ to our customers.”

Biffle also suggested that the extended-range Airbus would also give Frontier access to new routes from the US to Europe and South America.

The Airbus’ 5,400-mile range would enable non-stop flights to Hawai‘i from Frontier’s home base at Denver International Airport in Colorado.

Biffle noted that the Denver-Hawai‘i market wouldn’t be as big as California-Hawai‘i or even Phoenix-Hawaii.

He said Hawai‘i’s biggest mainland markets are all west of the Rocky Mountains, while travelers east of the Rockies tend to head to the Caribbean for island vacations.

If Frontier introduces West Coast-Hawai‘i flights, its entry as an ultra-low-cost carrier could decrease fares to the islands from California.

That has already happened after Southwest launched its new routes to Hawai‘i, thus far limited to San Jose and Oakland.

Frontier Airlines operates flights to over 100 locations in the US, as well as six international destinations and employs more than 3,000 people.