In the Houston Area, Two of America’s Biggest Low-Cost Airlines Are Expanding Their Footprint

Frontier Airlines, headquartered in Denver, on Tuesday announced it will launch a daily nonstop service between that city and Houston's Hobby Airport, to start September 7. Frontier already offers nonstop service between Denver and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, as well as connecting flights.

"There is strong consumer demand for flights between these two destinations," said Daniel Shurz, Frontier's senior vice president of commercial.

Spirit Airlines on Tuesday announced that it will open a new crew base at IAH, where some 150 pilots and 300 flight attendants will be based starting this fall. Spirit, headquartered in Miramar, Fla., also on Tuesday had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new aircraft maintenance facility at IAH, which was announced in April. In a statement, airline officials noted Houston's "strategic location within Spirit's network."

" Houston is a key international gateway in our flight network," said Nick Bartolotta, Vice President of Operations and Crew Planning for Spirit Airlines.

The two low-cost carriers, Frontier and Spirit, had announced plans to merge in February, but those were put on hold after a third major low-cost carrier, JetBlue, announced its own bid to takeover Spirit in April. If either Frontier or JetBlue were to merge with Spirit, the result would be America's fifth-largest airline.

The moves come as air travel returns to pre-pandemic levels, in Houston and across the country, despite soaring airfares and pilot shortages which have led to flight cancellations and delays. In May, 4.8 million travelers passed through IAH and Hobby, up 24 percent from May 2021.

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