CLEVELAND, Ohio – Frontier Airlines is considering Cleveland Hopkins as a base for pilots and flight attendants, a result of the carrier’s growing presence at the airport.
Daniel Shurz, Frontier’s senior vice president, commercial, said Tuesday that Cleveland was on a short list for the carrier’s next base, which could include nearly 400 pilots and flight attendants.
“We like the city,” he said. “The scale of the operation in Cleveland is large enough for us to consider it. It’s definitely on a short list.”
He said he expected a decision to be made in “a matter of months.”
Fast-growing Frontier, headquartered in Denver, currently has nine pilot-and-flight attendant bases, with a 10th, in Chicago, with flight attendants only.
Crew bases are coveted among airports because they typically lead to sustained airline growth and better flight schedules, along with the economic impact of hundreds of well-paying jobs.
“When an airline opens a crew base – that shows staying power,” said industry consultant Brett Snyder, who operates travel site crankyflier.com. “It’s more of a longer-term commitment to a city and bodes well for future growth.”
Cleveland Hopkins is currently home to a crew base for United Airlines, leftover from the airport’s days as a hub for the carrier. A United spokesman said earlier this year that there were 560 pilots and flight attendants who call Cleveland home.
Frontier’s crew base would not be that large. Shurz estimated it might be the equivalent of the carrier’s Tampa base, with 250 flight attendants and 140 pilots. Other Frontier crew bases are in Denver, Dallas, Las Vegas, Orlando, Atlanta, Phoenix and Miami.
Frontier has been growing rapidly in Cleveland. Just this week, it is launching nonstop service to San Juan, Puerto Rico, with four additional routes starting in the coming weeks – to Charlotte, Dallas, San Francisco and San Diego. With these additions, the carrier will fly to 17 destinations from Cleveland – more than any other carrier.
Frontier is what’s known as an ultra-low-cost carrier, offering super low fares alongside extra charges for seat assignments, luggage and other amenities. Last year, Frontier was in talks to merge with Spirit Airlines, its main competitor. That deal fell apart when Spirit, instead, agreed to be purchased by JetBlue, a process that is ongoing.
Read more:
Nonstop to Puerto Rico: New Frontier flight reconnects Cleveland and San Juan
Cleveland Hopkins officials begin talks with airlines to finance new $2 billion airport rebuild
Nonstop service between Cleveland Hopkins and Dublin launches May 19 on Aer Lingus
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