Frontier Airlines is expanding its international network with the addition of flights to Bridgetown, Barbados, and Santiago, Dominican Republic, from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The new routes, which will operate three times weekly, will start on June 14 to Cibao International Airport (STI) in Santiago and on July 3 to Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI) in Bridgetown. Frontier’s ultra-low-cost model means fares on the new routes begin at $59 one-way.
In addition to the new international routes, Frontier is launching a route between Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Miami International Airport, a route between two American Airlines hubs and dominated by the Fort-Worth based airline. This route will also operate thrice weekly with starting fares of $29 one-way.
The expansion comes as Frontier prepares to open a crew base in San Juan, which will be home to 90 pilots and 200 flight attendants. The new base is expected to have a positive economic impact on the city.
Frontier already operates several international flights from San Juan, which are some of the shortest routes in its network. According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, Frontier will have five international flights in June; in July, that number will increase to six.
Starting on June 2, Frontier will begin flying to St. Maarten, home to Princess Juliana International Airport which is famous because of Maho Beach. Maho Beach is located right next to the airport (literally), and airplanes fly extremely low over the beach as they land. In addition to St. Maarten, Frontier flies to Cancun, Punta Cana, and Santo Domingo. As mentioned above, starting June 14, the airline will begin flying to Santiago.
Frontier offers several connections from Puerto Rico to the mainland US and even the US Virgin Islands. Several carriers operate the flight to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, but only Frontier and JetBlue deploy jet aircraft. Frontier’s flight takes less than 20 minutes, and sometimes, it cruises at altitude for only five minutes. On the mainland, as seen in the map below, the airline flies as far west as Dallas and as far north as Boston and has several routes in between.
