• 

  Denver International Airport

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  DEN/KDEN

  Country:

  United States

  CEO:

  Phillip A. Washington

  Passenger Count :

  58,828,552 (2021)

  Runways :

  7/25 - 3,658m (12,000 ft) | 8/26 - 3,658m (12,000 ft) | 16L/34R - 3,658m (12,000 ft) | 16R/34L - 4,877m (16,000 ft) | 17L/35R - 3,658m (12,000 ft) | 17R/35L - 3,658m (12,000 ft)

Frontier has announced three more routes to Montego Bay, with Chicago Midway, Denver, and St Louis all beginning in February. This brings to six Frontier's network to the Jamaican destination, supplementing existing Atlanta, Orlando, and Philadelphia. It comes as the ULCC will cease Montego Bay from Miami and Tampa in November, which were set to run through the winter.

What's happening?

Not long after Valentine's Day, Frontier will introduce the following three routes, summarized below by start date. While many will say they're "new," Frontier has previously served Denver (December 2013-March 2014) and St Louis (July 2012-August 2015).

And although it hasn't served Chicago Midway to Montego Bay before, meaning it is properly new, it did previously link the Jamaican airport from Chicago O'Hare (July 2012-December 2014). It follows Frontier's return to Midway in April 2022.

Decent-sized markets

All three markets are decent-sized even before demand grows from Frontier's lower average fares. Booking data shows that, in 2019, St Louis had approximately 52,000 roundtrip point-to-point (P2P) passengers, Denver 46,000, and Chicago Midway 33,000.

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Notice St Louis-Montego Bay

The 1,583-mile (2,547km) airport pair will break two records: it'll have 5x weekly flights, far above the previous high of 2x weekly, and two airlines for the first time. Frontier joins Southwest in the market.

While both carriers will actively target the decent P2P demand, Southwest has the added advantage of feeding Montego Bay flights from its numerous routes to St Louis. The Missouri airport is Southwest's 14th busiest in February and an important 'hub' (a word not used by Southwest), with 43 domestic routes (not all connected to Montego Bay). It serves many markets and spreads risk.

In contrast, Frontier will have only four domestic routes from St Louis in February (Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa), supplementing Cancún and Punta Cana. It means Frontier will rely nearly entirely on P2P demand. Given the solid P2P traffic, that shouldn't be a problem. And it'll be able to stimulate demand further to grow the total pie, the very essence of most ULCCs.

Discover more aviation news.

Frontier's 4th longest route

In the week Denver-Montego Bay begins, it'll become Frontier's fourth-longest route – and its longest international service. And, excitingly, there's very little distance in it – just six miles (10km) separate the top four.

1. Las Vegas to Philadelphia: 2,176 miles (3,503km)
2. Las Vegas to Miami: 2,174 miles (3,499km)
3. Las Vegas to Fort Lauderdale: 2,173 miles (3,498km)
4. St Louis to Montego Bay: 2,170 miles (3,492km)
5. Las Vegas to Baltimore: 2,106 miles (3,389km)
6. Philadelphia to Phoenix: 2,075 miles (3,340km)
7. Las Vegas to Orlando: 2,039 miles (3,282km)
8. Las Vegas to Raleigh Durham: 2,026 miles (3,260km)
9. Phoenix to Baltimore: 1,999 miles (3,216km)
10. Las Vegas to Tampa: 1,984 miles (3,193km)

Have you flown Frontier? If so, what was the longest route? Let us know in the comments.