Travel notes: Did sub 90% passenger loads lead to Frontier service cuts?

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Frontier jetFrontier Airlines will make no sudden changes in Delaware this winter after big changes in the fall. In the meantime, a possible reason for local service cuts has come to light.

Wilmington is a market that Frontier continues to assess with the goal of finding the right level of service that makes sense for both the community and the airline,” Frontier spokesman Todd Lehmacher wrote in an E mail message.

We’re committed to flying our current Wilmington schedule to Tampa and Orlando for the winter,” he added. No decision has been made regarding resuming service to Chicago next year, he wrote. An earlier report in the News Journal had indicated flights to the Windy City could resume.

The airline is dropping service to other destinations this fall from the Delaware airport. That included one warm-weather spot, Fort Meyers, much to the disappointment of local passengers.

A possible reason for the service cuts can be seen in federal transportation figures that show the average load factor for Frontier flights from New Castle fell below the 90 percent threshold beginning in the spring.

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Figures beyond June were not available. Ultra-low fare airlines, like Frontier, want jets to run more than 90 percent full in return for lower ticket prices. Overall, the Frontier system average is now running slightly above 90 percent. By contrast, signs point to continued expansion out of Trenton, with the carrier adding the Bahamas as its 19th destination available from the New Jersey airport. Federal figures on the percentage of occupied seats on Trenton flights last spring were not available.

Frontier is also returning to Philadelphia with destinations that include Chicago and Atlanta, two cities that are being dropped from the Wilmington schedule.

The Delaware River and Bay Authority appears to have made the right move in not making major upgrades at New Castle as Frontier reworks its route system and fleet of four dozen jets in an effort to improve profitability.

The revamping, under new controlling investor, Indigo Partners, seems to be working. The Denver Post reported that financial results of Frontier have improved in the first half of 2014. although the airline has struggled with customer service issues as it moves to the low fare model that changed the frequent flyer program and added charges for carry on bags (not the personal item).

Frontier hopes to be an ultra-low cost carrier with a higher level of customer service than rival Spirit.

More warm weather destinations.

While the news out of Delaware on airline service has not been good, we are seeing more travel options to the Caribbean and Central America out of Baltimore and Philadelphia.

In March, Southwest Airlines will launch nonstop service between Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport and Juan Santa Maria International Airport in San Jose, Costa Rica.

It will be Southwest’s first destination in Central America, pending approval from the government in that nation. Southwest is poised to complete the integration of the two airlines, with the AirTran name going away. The final AirTran flight will take place in late December.

The integration limited growth Southwest as it got rid of aircraft in the AirTran fleet that were not 737s. On July 1, Southwest launched international service to three Caribbean destinations and by the end of this year, the carrier will fly between the U.S. and eight international destinations in five countries. Baltimore is one of the hub cities for the international service.

Meanwhile, Frontier Airlines is adding Cancun service as part of its return to Philadelphia.

People Express grounded

A while back, this column touched on the return of People Express.

The airline started in late summer on a shoestring, with two older Boeing 737s flying out of a hub in Newport News, Va. Both planes ended up in the shop and the carrier was forced to halt service. No return date has been set as the carrier looks for a spare jet to avoid a repeat. – Doug Rainey

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