What Is Frontier Airlines? Budget Carrier Adds 21 New Destinations

Frontier Airlines is a low-cost carrier based in Denver, Colorado, and its biggest hub is at Denver International Airport. But the airline, which was started in 1994, announced Tuesday that they will expand to 21 new destinations and add 85 new routes.

The move comes as the company prepares for its initial public offering, according to the Denver Post Tuesday. Frontier will offer the second largest number of destinations from the Denver airport. The airline competes with United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, both of whom run large hubs in Denver.

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“Customers will benefit not only from the broad new selection of nonstop routes, but our growing network will provide more than 1,000 new connecting route options,” Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said in a statement. “By taking advantage of our natural share of connecting passengers, we can offer our low fares to even more of America. This is particularly important through our largest hub and our home in Denver.”

The company adds four California destinations, including Fresno, Palm Springs, San Jose and Ontario. They also add two Florida destinations, Jacksonville and Pensacola; two Oklahoma destinations, Tulsa and Oklahoma City; and other destinations such as El Paso, Texas and Spokane, Washington.

The company will also be adding routes to its existing destinations that include Providence, Rhode Island and Tampa, Florida.

The company expects to expand its fleet to 76 jets by 2018. At the end of 2016, the company had 63 jets.

The new destinations and routes will begin in the fall and winter and the company will offer promotional prices to advertise the expansions, with some seats going for as low as $39.

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In spite of its expansion plans, the company faced a public relations nightmare last winter. A December storm in 2016 caused major disruptions to the airline and caused many passengers to miss their holiday destinations. Frontier’s chief operating officer and Vice President of Customer Experience both stepped down after the incident.

The company earned $200 million in profit last year on $1.7 billion in revenue while carrying 14.9 million passengers, according to the Wall Street Journal in March. The company looks to compete with other discount carriers Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Travel.