Frontier Airlines, the third-largest single carrier at the world’s busiest airport, is adding two international routes from Atlanta as part of an expansion to eight new cities from Hartsfield-Jackson.
Frontier will offer nonstop service to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and Oranjestad, Aruba, the island in the Dutch Antilles that has long been a sought-after tourism destination, as the airline moves into newly remodeled gates in Concourse E.
The additional capacity, which includes routes to six domestic cities including two in Florida, represents a 40 percent increase in departures from Atlanta, where Frontier employs 1,200 pilots, cabin crew and airport staff, paying $111 million in wages. Frontier’s route map will expand to 52 cities with the addition of the new destinations from Atlanta.
Known for its bare-bones base fares, Frontier claims its average ticket prices are 60 percent cheaper than those of competitors, though pricing ratchets up as fliers add baggage and reserved seats.
Frontier is set to launch a first-class seating option next year and plans to boost transparency in pricing as part of The New Frontier, a reorientation of its product and loyalty offerings.
The weekly Aruba flight is to start in May with a $69 introductory one-way fare, while San Pedro Sula, Honduras, a manufacturing hub and population center in the western part of the Central American country, will operate three times weekly, starting with a $59 fare. Both flights are subject to government approval.
Frontier has tried twice unsuccessfully to merge with bankrupt Florida-based carrier Spirit Airlines, which serves San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Atlanta and connections to a variety of Caribbean destinations through its main hub in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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