Originally Posted by
FreequentFlier
The bolded part is really the only relevant part at this point. F9 can't even find a home for its airplanes now, and yet they're going to more than double their fleet size going forward? And WN and UA are going to what, sit back and do nothing?
I'm pretty sure the current fleet utilization is pretty high at this point. In fact, that is a reason for a number of the cutbacks (particularly OMA), because the planes coming from Embraer were delayed due to the tsunami. By the time these birds (120) are supposed to come online, the fleet will be around 100 planes (unless something major happens), so while there will be expansion, they aren't doubling the fleet size.
Originally Posted by
BlueHorseShoe2000
There are definitely opportunities out there for another focus city. A few years back Midwest was looking at establishing another base of operations outside of MKE and MCI but they never got that far due to obvious reasons.
For speculation, here is my list of 10 cities where Frontier might have an opportunity to create a small focus city/connecting operation. Any attempt at another focus city would require Frontier to dedicate time and resources (aircraft, money for proper marketing, etc.) and should only be undertaken once existing opportunities in DEN, MKE, and MCI have been maximized.
1) Sacramento
2) Austin
3) Pittsburgh
4) Richmond
5) Greeneville/Spartanburg
6) Birmingham
7) Jacksonville
8) Ft. Myers
9) Columbus
10) Portland (PDX)
Hartford and Raleigh would have been on my list but since Frontier recently pulled the plug on both I decided to remove them.
Each has their pros/cons. For example, on paper AUS looks like it would be a very desirable focus city but it has been a tough nut to crack for airlines.
I do think we'll see Frontier begin to focus more on Mexico and the Caribbean in the future. However, there are still good opportunities to exploit in DEN and MCI. Frontier will also have to decide what role MKE will play in the future and just how aggressively they will pursue certain markets.
AUS has considerable service from WN, AA, and JetBlue. In my post I was referencing SAT, where only WN has a significant number of nonstops, and it is the 7th most populated city in the US. I know United tried a hub/focus city there once but I have no idea how that turned out. I think JAX might be an interesting option for a Southeast connecting point.