Spirit and Frontier add new ULCC competition in Atlanta, will Delta or Southwest feel the most heat?

Atlanta Hartsfield International airport is becoming a hotbed of ULCC activity in 2015 with both Spirit and Frontier Airlines planning ample expansion from the airport, dominated by full service global airline Delta.

It is an interesting development in the post-consolidated landscape of the US, and Atlanta in particular where Southwest is the second largest airline after acquiring and folding AirTran into its operations. The additions by Spirit and Frontier show those airlines believe that Atlanta is ripe for stimulation, even though historical low fare leader Southwest has a major presence in the market. ULCCs have now assumed that role in the US market place.

Atlanta is also perhaps a test case for the ULCC effect since unlike Cleveland, it is not a hub that has lost service. It is also one of the few markets where both Spirit and Frontier have opted to expand aggressively on some of the airport's largest routes.