{"version":"1.9","identifier":"5a1d9554-630e-4d53-8af7-7afa5ed3a49c","language":"en-US","title":"Frontier goes to South America for the first time: Orlando to Medellín, Bogotá and Cartagena from December","layout":{"columns":7,"width":1024,"margin":32,"gutter":20},"componentLayouts":{"text":{"columnStart":0,"columnSpan":7,"maximumContentWidth":720,"margin":{"top":12,"bottom":12}},"photo":{"columnStart":0,"columnSpan":7,"margin":{"top":20,"bottom":20}}},"componentTextStyles":{"default":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":18,"lineHeight":29,"textColor":"#171717"},"headline":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue-Bold","fontSize":36,"lineHeight":42,"conditional":[{"conditions":{"maxViewportWidth":480},"fontSize":28,"lineHeight":34}]},"intro":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":20,"lineHeight":28,"textColor":"#555555"},"caption":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":13,"lineHeight":19,"textColor":"#666666"},"byline":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":13,"lineHeight":20,"textColor":"#666666"},"body":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":18,"lineHeight":29,"paragraphSpacingAfter":14,"linkStyle":{"textColor":"#00704a"}}},"metadata":{"canonicalURL":"https://www.loungefrog.com/news/frontier-airlines-first-south-america-colombia-orlando-december-2026","datePublished":"2026-10-19T22:10:24.840467Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T22:10:36.480592Z","authors":["Patrick Karsh"],"excerpt":"Frontier's first flights south of the Caribbean start December 10, filling routes Spirit flew until it shut down. Fares opened at $99, the loyalty program got easier at the top, and the long-promised first class is still not on board.","thumbnailURL":"https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/5a1d9554-630e-4d53-8af7-7afa5ed3a49c/b36076fd1f9f9a4a326f039a2e3d4625.jpg","keywords":["airline"],"generatorName":"Frog News","generatorVersion":"1.0"},"components":[{"role":"title","text":"Frontier goes to South America for the first time: Orlando to Medellín, Bogotá and Cartagena from December","textStyle":"headline","layout":"text"},{"role":"intro","text":"Frontier's first flights south of the Caribbean start December 10, filling routes Spirit flew until it shut down. Fares opened at $99, the loyalty program got easier at the top, and the long-promised first class is still not on board.","textStyle":"intro","layout":"text"},{"role":"byline","text":"By Patrick Karsh · Published October 19, 2026","textStyle":"byline","layout":"text"},{"role":"photo","URL":"https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/5a1d9554-630e-4d53-8af7-7afa5ed3a49c/b36076fd1f9f9a4a326f039a2e3d4625.jpg","caption":"Frontier's Colombia announcement at Orlando International Airport, September 10, 2026. Flights to Medellín, Bogotá and Cartagena begin in December. · Frontier Airlines","accessibilityCaption":"Frontier's Colombia announcement at Orlando International Airport, September 10, 2026. Flights to Medellín, Bogotá and Cartagena begin in December.","layout":"photo"},{"role":"caption","text":"Frontier's Colombia announcement at Orlando International Airport, September 10, 2026. Flights to Medellín, Bogotá and Cartagena begin in December. · Frontier Airlines","textStyle":"caption","layout":"text"},{"role":"body","format":"markdown","text":"## Three routes, one hub\n\n[Frontier Airlines](https://www.loungefrog.com/airlines/f9) will fly to Colombia from [Orlando](https://www.loungefrog.com/airports/mco) starting in December, its first service to South America, the airline said in a [September 10 announcement](https://news.flyfrontier.com/frontier-announces-major-international-expansion-with-first-ever-service-to-colombia/). Orlando to Medellín starts December 10 and runs daily. Orlando to Bogotá begins December 14, six times a week at first and daily from March 6, 2027. Orlando to Cartagena follows on December 19, once a week. All three need government approval, and Frontier says times and frequencies may change.\n\nIntroductory fares were $99 to Bogotá, $129 to Cartagena and $169 to Medellín, each way, for tickets bought by September 16 and travel on select days between January 14 and April 5, 2027. Those sale fares have expired, but they set the floor Frontier wants people to remember.\n\nTyri Squyres, Frontier's vice president of public and consumer affairs, cited \"strong, unmet demand\" for low-cost travel between Orlando and Colombia. Lance Lyttle, chief executive of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, called it more choice for travelers at an airport where Frontier is already one of the larger carriers.\n\n## Why Orlando, and why now\n\nThe demand Frontier is describing is not new; it belonged to Spirit. Spirit Airlines, which shut down earlier this year, flew Orlando to both Medellín and Bogotá, and its collapse left Avianca and LATAM as the only nonstop options on the Bogotá route and Avianca alone, seasonally, on Medellín. [Aero Crew News](https://aerocrewnews.com/2026/10/08/frontier-launches-south-america-service-from-orlando-in-december/) notes that Frontier's all-Airbus narrowbody fleet can do the flying without a new aircraft type or new crew qualifications, which is what makes a four-hour international route cheap to start.\n\nIt is the same move Frontier made in Detroit, where it now flies 11 routes that Spirit used to, and it is the reason Frontier could afford to walk away from JFK this month. We covered that in [our piece on Frontier's New York retreat](https://www.loungefrog.com/news/frontier-airlines-leaves-jfk-new-york-laguardia-newark-detroit-october-2026). The airline is spending its growth where Spirit's customers are, not where the premium carriers fight.\n\n## What the seat is like\n\nFrontier's September release repeats a promise it has made for two years: First Class seating \"debuting in 2026.\" As of mid-October the seats are not installed, and [AeroXplorer](https://aeroxplorer.com/articles/frontier-airlines-to-introduce-firstclass-seating-in-2027-departing-from-ultralowcost-roots) reported on September 22 that installation now begins in 2027. The Points Guy had the airline targeting a fleetwide rollout by spring 2026 after an earlier slip from fall 2025.\n\nWhat exists today is UpFront Plus: the first two rows, with extra legroom and a guaranteed empty middle seat. On a Bogotá flight of about four hours it is the only way to buy space. Everything else is a standard seat with a bundle attached, and bags, seat selection and snacks cost extra. Starlink Wi-Fi is being fitted across the fleet.\n\n## The loyalty side\n\nThe Colombia routes arrive as Frontier Miles gets more generous at the top. On August 27 Frontier [cut the Elite Diamond threshold](https://news.flyfrontier.com/frontier-airlines-enhances-frontier-miles-making-elite-diamond-status-even-easier-to-reach-and-enabling-cardmembers-to-earn-more-miles/) from 100,000 to 75,000 status points, effective immediately. Bundle fares bought from September 1 earn 6 miles per dollar for members and 12 for Barclays cardmembers, rising to 16 and 22 at Diamond. Basic fares earn 1 mile per dollar, or 4 with the card.\n\nFrom January 1, 2027 every Elite tier gets upgrades to UpFront Plus or, when it exists, First Class: four hours before departure at Silver, eight at Gold, 18 at Platinum and 24 at Diamond, all with an Economy or Premium bundle. Diamond keeps unlimited companion travel and adds a second checked bag.\n\nNone of this includes a lounge. Frontier has no lounges and no lounge partner, and the Orlando departures leave from a terminal where the [Plaza Premium Lounge](https://www.loungefrog.com/airports/mco) and other paid-entry rooms are the only option for a Frontier passenger without a premium card.\n\n## Worth booking?\n\nFor a leisure trip to Colombia from central Florida, yes, with eyes open. The fares will undercut Avianca and LATAM, and Medellín daily is a schedule Spirit never quite managed. Budget for the bundle, pick UpFront Plus if you want to arrive rested, and remember that a $99 base fare on Frontier has never been the number you pay. Frontier reports third-quarter results on October 28, which should include an early read on how the international sale went.","textStyle":"body","layout":"text"}]}