Frontier Airlines steps into Cleveland as United downsizes – a litmus test for ULCC revival

Frontier Airlines is seizing on an opportunity at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport created by United's decision to downsize its hub in the city. It is not a surprising move given Frontier's strategy to enter markets that are victims of US major airline consolidation - and there are plenty of them.

During Jun-2014 Frontier plans to add six new markets from Cleveland, which essentially makes the airport another focus city for the carrier, which has been building up Trenton, New Jersey as a major base since Nov-2012.

Delta Air Lines is however also adding some new markets from Cleveland in the wake of United's cuts. But only a small amount of the new services introduced by those carriers are backfilling markets exited by United, which total more than 30. The result is those small markets may have lost air service on a likely permanent basis, a direct byproduct of legacy airline mergers.