Frontier Airlines is going after customers who could fly on shaky budget rival Spirit Airline with 20 new routes in major Spirit markets. CEO Barry Biffle said he’s positioning the airline to become the top budget carrier in the U.S. Frontier has failed to acquire budget rival Spirit despite several attempts since 2022. A Frontier Airlines plane near a Spirit Airlines plane at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on May 16, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Frontier Airlines is going after customers of Spirit Airlines, whose financial footing has gotten so shaky in recent weeks that it warned earlier this month it might not be able to survive another year without more cash.
Frontier on Tuesday announced 20 routes it plans to start this winter, many of them in major Spirit markets like its base at Fort Lauderdale International Airport in Florida. Frontier overlaps with Spirit on 35% of its capacity, more than any other airline, according to a Monday note from Deutsche Bank airline analyst Michael Linenberg.
Some of Frontier’s