Budget carrier Frontier Airlines will significantly expand service out of Philadelphia International Airport in 2022, adding routes to six cities including Chicago, Boston, San Antonio and Kansas City beginning this spring.
Frontier is already PHL's second-largest carrier, trailing only American Airlines in terms of the number of destinations it offers passengers.
The airline's expansion in Philadelphia comes alongside similar service growth planned at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina.
In the coming months, Frontier will add service from Philadelphia to the following cities with low introductory fares.
| Service To | Service Start | Service Frequency | Introductory Fare |
| Chicago | May 26, 2022 | Daily | $59 |
| Kansas City | May 27, 2022 | 3X Weekly | $99 |
| Cincinatti | May 27, 2022 | 4X Weekly | $49 |
| Boston | May 27, 2022 | 4X Weekly | $29 |
| Cleveland | June 16, 2022 | 3X Weekly | $39 |
| San Antonio | June 15, 2022 | 3X Weekly | $99 |
Purchases of flights at the introductory rates must be made by the end of Tuesday, March 15, at the latest. There are limited windows to select travel dates depending on when the new service begins at each destination. Round trips are not required to qualify for the fares.
•When service starts on or before May 2, the introductory fare applies to travel dates through May 25.
•When service starts between May 12-June 2, the introductory fare applies to travel dates between May 12-June 29.
•When service starts after June 14, the introductory fare applies to travel dates between June 14-August 15.
•The following blackout dates apply: May 27-30 and June 30-July 11
Frontier's expansion in Philadelphia comes a month after the Denver-based company announced its planned $6.6 billion merger with Spirit Airlines, a move that will put the combined entity ahead of JetBlue and Alaska Air for number of miles flown by paying passengers. The merger aims to offer travelers a competitive ultra low-cost alternative to the four major airlines — American, Delta, United and Southwest — that together control about 80% of the nation's air traffic.
MORE NEWS: Spirit Airlines to launch seven new nonstop routes from Philadelphia International Airport
Though Frontier and Spirit are preferred by budget travelers, they both have had the worst customer satisfaction ratings in the industry, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index. The two companies will continue to operate separately until the regulatory review process for the merger is completed.
Frontier's expanded service announcement also includes a number of new routes out of Las Vegas, Atlanta, Denver, Houston, Tampa and Dallas.