Frontier Airlines is adding five new nonstop routes out of Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS). Targeting a mix of smaller and major destinations in the United States, the ultra-low-cost carrier will inaugurate all five new routes from mid-August.
Frontier Airlines adds five new Las Vegas routes
Frontier Airlines has added five new nonstop routes out of Las Vegas:
- Bentonville, Arkansas (XNA)
- Bloomington, Illinois (BMI)
- Memphis, Tennessee (MEM)
- Madison, Wisconsin (MSN)
- Tucson, Arizona (TUS)
All routes will be served two times per week. Bloomington and Memphis start on August 12th. Tucson, Madison, and Bentonville start on August 13th.
Daniel Shurz, senior vice president of commercial at Frontier, stated the following on the new routes:
“We’re thrilled to expand in Las Vegas with five new nonstop routes. Frontier now proudly offers 48 nonstop Las Vegas routes for improved access and affordability to visit one of the top entertainment destinations in the world. We look forward to launching these new flights in August and welcoming southern Nevadans and visitors aboard to make unforgettable vacation memories.”
What to make of the new routes
Routes to Madison, Memphis, and Tucson make a lot of sense. These three are major metropolitan areas that could benefit from more ultra-low-cost service to top leisure destinations.
The two other routes to Bentonville and Bloomington are interesting. XNA serves the Fayetville-Bentonville area in Arkansas, which receives an extensive amount of service. This is largely due to global commercial giant Walmart, and its presence in Bentonville.
Adding more service there is designed to expand leisure opportunities for travelers. Frontier will compete with Allegiant on the XNA-LAS route. XNA is also on Breeze Airways’ route map.
Meanwhile, Bloomington is a little bit of a wild card. Frontier already has a history of serving Bloomington, with seasonal service to both Denver and Orlando. Clearly, the airline’s services there have been successful, thus warranting a new flight to Las Vegas.
Growing a presence in Las Vegas
The importance of Las Vegas as a leisure destination and hub for low-cost carriers cannot be overstated. Frontier Airlines, once these services inaugurate, will serve 48 destinations nonstop out of Las Vegas.
Las Vegas is heavily contested. Allegiant Air considers the airport a hub and is based at the city. Southwest Airlines operates a large hub out of the airport. Spirit Airlines has been steadily growing its presence out of the city.
Frontier Airlines is not necessarily chasing market share with these routes. The airline is only coming in on these routes a couple of times per week. Like Allegiant, it operates a low-frequency schedule. But, like Spirit Airlines, it prefers to fly newer Airbus A320neo family of aircraft.
Nevertheless, the airline is an important player in LAS. According to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the largest carrier at the airport is Southwest with a 37.79% market share. Spirit comes up second with 15.35%, followed by American at 10.8%, Frontier at 9.7%, and Delta at 7.29%. All other carriers combined have a 19.08% market share in LAS.
Frontier will certainly not be hitting Southwest or Spirit levels of market share at the airport, but it will certainly be making itself more relevant and more known to other Las Vegas-bound travelers.
Are you going to fly any of these new Frontier routes? Let us know in the comments!
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