Frontier Smells ULCC Blood, Expands its Frontiers

Frontier dropped 20 new routes into its network like confetti this week, spanning Baltimore, Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, and Houston, with a few international plays to Central America to complete the set. The airline says it’s about “serving the top 20 U.S. metros,” but let’s be real — this is also about circling Spirit’s carcass. While Spirit warns it might not make it another 12 months, Frontier is busy planting flags in every market where Spirit once roamed with its yellow airplanes, hoping travelers won’t notice the swap as long as the fare is two digits, starts with a one and ends with “plus fees.”

Armed with shiny A321neos and the confidence of an airline that just barely lost only $70 million last quarter, Frontier is charging straight into Spirit’s territory like a discount gladiator. It’s the classic ULCC playbook: flood the map, chase the headlines, and pray enough people pay for carry-ons — or $69 elite status to get that “free carry-on” — to keep the lights on. Whether this expansion turns into dominance or just more stranded passengers at Fort Lauderdale, one thing’s clear, Frontier smells blood in the water, and it’s coming for Spirit’s lunch money.

Frontier’s new frontiers include:

• Baltimore: Cancun (1x weekly), Fort Lauderdale (3x weekly), Houston/IAH (3x weekly), New Orleans (2x weekly)
• Charlotte: Detroit (2x weekly), Fort Lauderdale (3x weekly)
• Chicago/ORD: Fort Lauderdale (3x weekly)
• Dallas/DFW: Fort Lauderdale (3x weekly), New Orleans (2x weekly)
• Detroit: Cancun (1x weekly), Fort Lauderdale (3x weekly), Houston/IAH (3x weekly), Miami (3x weekly), New Orleans (3x weekly)
• Houston/IAH: Fort Lauderdale (1x weekly), Guatemala City (2x weekly), New Orleans (2x weekly), Philadelphia (3x weekly) San Salvador (3x weekly), San Pedro Sula (1x weekly)

For more on Frontier’s quest to squash Spirit, please visit Thursday’s post on crankyflier.com.

Mexico City Gives U.S. Airlines Their Toys Back

After years of cutting U.S. carriers’ slots at Mexico City’s Benito Juárez Airport under the guise of “congestion management,” Mexico has suddenly decided to return the goodies. We postulate that it figured out that when it comes to Mexican cuisine, congestion management doesn’t mean what the airport thinks it does.

United confirmed the reversal in an August 18 filing, so all those slots carved up back in winter 2022–2023 are supposedly back on the table. Why the reversal? Well it’s the Mexican government, so who knows. For now, let’s call it a mix of U.S. government pressure, trade diplomacy, and maybe someone realizing it’s not a great look when your “world capital” airport has more cancellations than tacos on a Tuesday.

Of course, the devil’s still in the details: no one knows exactly how many slots, which airlines, or whether these will actually stick. It could mean more flights from American, Delta, and United — or it could just mean endless paperwork while Mexico’s shiny new Felipe Ángeles Airport keeps gathering cobwebs. Mexico’s transportation ministry is playing the quiet partner and offering zero public clarity. But the two countries are sharing a World Cup next summer — along with Canada, so there’s that.

Travelers might end up seeing more nonstop U.S.–Mexico City flights, assuming this isn’t just airspace diplomacy dressed up as progress. In the meantime, can we interest you in a wide open flight at dirt cheap prices to Mexico City’s new airport? All you need is a plane full of cargo and you’re set.

Boston is Delta’s Latest Euro Growth Hub — No Poll Needed

Delta just can’t stop flexing at Logan. Starting summer 2026, it’s adding Madrid and Nice to the lineup, managing to do so without asking SkyMiles members which of the two they prefer. All the while bumping Barcelona to daily and pushing Milan/MXP to start earlier into the season. That means 12 European cities on tap from Boston next summer, flown mostly on shiny A330-900neos that make JetBlue’s shrinking transatlantic footprint look like a weekend hobby project.

And the subtext here isn’t subtle: Delta is using Boston to stomp on JetBlue’s dreams the way you stomp out a Dunkin’ cup in a crosswalk with your Coca-Cola can. JetBlue tried to play “cool kid with London flights,” but Delta rolled in with an entire continent worth of options, like Oprah handing out boarding passes: “You get Madrid, you get Nice, everybody gets Europe!” For Bostonians, it’s a buffet. For JetBlue, it’s a reminder that Delta doesn’t just compete — it overwhelms.

Lufthansa’s “Matrix Next Level”: One Hub to Rule Them All

In a move that reads like a corporate power lift, Lufthansa Group is pulling the plug on autonomy for Austrian, SWISS, Brussels, and the rest of its Lufthansa Group friends, centralizing planning, sales, and loyalty at its Frankfurt HQ as early as next year. What does this mean? Well for one thing, those shiny Zurich and Vienna boardrooms will soon only control cabin service while strategic decisions get a one-way ticket to Germany. It’s efficiency, Lufthansa-style — roughly a thousand Excel sheets layered into one mega-control freak fest.

Yes, Lufthansa wants pristine margins and streamlined operations — targeting an 8% operating profit margin, apparently inspired by SWISS’s consistent wins. But here’s the thing, airlines like SWISS built their reputation on local autonomy, regional loyalty, and high-quality service. Now they’re being reduced to “onboard experience providers” while Frankfurt dictates their schedule, pricing, and network, making them, effectively, glorified tray-wearers. This isn’t just structural reshuffling. It’s cultural turf warfare, and if the Swiss aren’t livid, they’ve at least hired more therapists.

Korean’s Big Shopping Day

Korean Air spent a busy week at the SkyMall, dropping a record $50 billion on 103 new Boeing jets plus a $13.7 billion engine and service package with GE. The order covers everything from 777-9s and 787-10s to 737 MAX 10s and 777-8 freighters — basically a Costco bulk buy of Boeing’s entire catalog. It’s the airline’s biggest order ever and a loud message: post-Asiana merger it’s gonna need a lot of airplanes.

For Boeing, this is the kind of headline order it desperately needed after years of drama; for Korean, it’s a chest-thump that says, “we’ll take Europe, the Americas, and half the cargo market too, thanks. And we might have the capacity to finally start that Seoul – Cleveland non-stop everyone’s been asking for.”

• Air India Express joined IATA. It’ll need to memorize the secret handshake now.
• Air Mauritius is looking for a redo on its A350 order.
• Air New Zealand‘s finances aren’t crushing it.
• Contour is adding the Caribbean to its route map.
• Delta is paying nearly $79 million to settle a lawsuit. It offered the equivalent in SkyMiles but the number that would equal $79 million worth of SkyMiles is so large, it hasn’t been invented yet.
• El Al‘s Q2 wasn’t great.
• EVA‘s newest partner is Southwest. Assigned seats and bag fees for everybody!
• Finnair is adding to its network in southern Europe.
• GOL expects to return to Chile, Ecuador, and Peru.
• JetBlue confirmed Condor is adding Blue stripes to its planes after announcing TrueBlue earn and burn opportunities on the carrier.
• Kenya Airways received a much-needed loan.
• KLM will return to Tel Aviv at the end of September.
• LOT has put a lot of thought into its future A220 cabins.
• Norse Atlantic is adding office personnel in Riga.
• Qantas ended its fiscal year with a profit of $2.4 billion which is roughly equal to US$99 and a tin of Vegemite.
• Lufthansa confirmed its investment into airBaltic.
• Ryanair will fast track delivery of 25 aircraft from Boeing.
• Thai expects a six month delivery delay on its B787s to late 2027.

In her single days, Mrs. Potato Head actually refused to date Walter Cronkite or Vin Scully because they were just commentators.