Spirit Airlines unleashes new competitive dynamics in Cleveland with challenge to Frontier Airlines

The new ultra low-cost airline competition is more aggressively probing the soft underbelly of established pricing at Cleveland and Cincinnati as Spirit Airlines plans to enter the Cleveland market in early 2015. Spirit's moves follow a rapid expansion by fellow ULCC Frontier Airlines in Cleveland after United dramatically downsized its smallest hub by cutting roughly 60% of its daily departures from the airport.

Now that Spirit plans to introduce flights from Cleveland, the market is also set to become the most visible test case of the US market's ability to support two ultra low-cost airlines. Spirit and Frontier will compete on most of Spirit's new routes from Cleveland alongside major airlines.

It is also Spirit's most blatant competitive response to Frontier since Frontier was purchased by former large Spirit shareholder Indigo Partners. Spirit has offered little public comment about Frontier's transition to the ultra low-cost model Spirit pioneered in the US roughly a decade ago; but perhaps Spirit's network moves speak volumes about how it views a new ULCC entrant in the market place.