[Not a valid template]Jack Markell did not issue an executive order. However, the governor would like area residents to book a Frontier Airlines flight when service begins in July.
U.S. Rep. John Carney said at an event announcing service from the New Castle County Airport that he plans to visit his sister in Denver.
At the Tuesday event, Frontier announced plans to serve the airport in New Castle with nonstop service to five cities beginning July 1. Slated to get the nonstop service at least a couple of times a week are Tampa. Orlando, Houston and Chicago-Midway as well as Frontier’s hub destination of Denver.
To read the full press release, including flight details, click on the link below:
The service marks a continuation of the Frontier’s strategy of staying out of the crosshairs of the major airlines by flying to smaller airports with free or low cost parking and fewer boarding delays. It has dropped domestic flights from Philadelphia.
This is a departure from the usual practice of one or two daily flights to an airline hub from a smaller airport with a smaller jet or turboprop aircraft. Frontier will not offer daily service to one destination, although it will have flights four times each week to its Denver hub.
“This is an exciting day for Frontier as we bring low-fares and friendly service to the convenient Wilmington/Philadelphia Airport, providing time-and-money-saving options to customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland,” said Daniel Shurz, Frontier’s senior vice president, commercial. “Customers who fly Frontier from Wilmington/Philadelphia can skip congested and expensive alternative hubs in the region and enjoy quick, convenient, low-fare travel to great destinations.”
The airline will keep an Airbus A320 aircraft at New Castle for its nonstop flights, Shurz said, The 166-seat aircraft features onboard television and other amenities not common in planes that land at smaller airports.
Shurz told those attending the event at the New Castle airport that an analysis of East Coast markets shows passengers face delays and high fares. In order to maintain lower fares, the carrier is looking at low cost airports, like Trenton and New Castle, the Frontier executive said. At major airports, landing fees and other costs can account for 10 percent of the ticket price. Parking next to the terminal in Philadelphia can run $20 a day or more.
The airline accompanied the announcement with a deep-discount promotion on fares to its destinations, if customers buy tickets at its FlyFrontier.com website by April 20.
The entry of Frontier comes with no financial risk to the state or the owner of the airport, the Delaware River and Bay Authority. In other smaller markets, subsidies are paid to carriers.
That has not been the case in Delaware. Carriers have tried to serve the market, the most recent being Skybus, which briefly flew out of the airport to Columbus, Ohio and Raleigh-Durham N.C.
Before that, Delta offered service to Atlanta, with passengers dealing with congestion and delays to and from the nation’s busiest airport.
Shurz noted that the airline is already expanding service from Trenton to 10 cities. Click here for details.
The airline will face a challenge in drawing customers from a large area, where many potential customers have only a 30-minute drive to the Philadelphia International Airport. At the same time, the airport has congested runways and is prone to delays.
Another question mark is whether Frontier has sufficient marketing dollars to make customers aware of its service. A story in the Denver Post, noted that the carrier has been heavily promoting its service in Trenton.
Frontier Airlines is a familiar name in the West that later was merged into a larger carrier. The name was revived about two decades ago for a start-up carrier based out of Denver.
The new Frontier and its parent Republic have struggled with discounter Southwest Airlines moving into Denver and later Milwaukee. Frontier does charge for checked luggage, unlike Southwest.
The strategy of flying from smaller airport to popular destinations has been employed in Europe, but has not been widely used in the U.S.
Frontier is also launching service from Cincinnati, which saw sharp cuts in airline service.
The Delaware River and Bay Authority manages corporate and aviation properties through its economic development powers – two airports in New Jersey (Millville Airport and Cape May Airport) and three in Delaware (New Castle Airport and the Civil Air Terminal and Delaware Airpark near Dover.
In an interview earlier this year, DRBA Executive Director Scott Green would not rule out a resumption of airline service from New Castle, adding that a new terminal was not out of the question.
The airline will operate from the current terminal on DuPont Highway.
The conventional wisdom was that an airline would not look at the Delaware market, following the exit of other carriers. – Doug Rainey
