Frontier Airlines will suspend service to many of its destinations from Wilmington/New Castle in December.
Delawareonline.com reported the service to Denver, Chicago, Atlanta and Fort Myers, Fla. would be suspended with the possibility of service being resumed in the spring , with the possibility of flights to other destinations. Service to Detroit is ending this fall.
Frontier was quick to say its decision did not reflect a lack of confidence in the market.
While acknowledging the service, cuts, “at the same time we are also increasing service to both Orlando and Tampa,” an email from the airline stated. “These seasonal changes to the schedule do not reflect our belief in the Wilmington. Both the airport and community have been supportive of our brand of low fares and we look forward to continuing to serve the market,”
Service will be beefed up to Tampa and Orlando during the winter, DelawareOnLine reported, quoting the director of airport operations for the Delaware River and Bay Authority, manager of the airport.
The change came arose from a review of operations by the airline, which is now controlled by Indigo Partners, an investment group based in Phoenix. Many top executives have been added to Frontier as it implements an “ultra-low fare” model that includes charges for most luggage, beverages and other services.
The airport recent ly celebrated its 200,000th passenger and the airline has seen nearly full flights out of New Castle since it launched service a little more than a year ago.
Frontier, which has about four-dozen aircraft , has not undertaken any significant expansion plans from the airport, a possible warning sign that it was looking at more profitable ways to use its fleet of jets. By contrast, it has expanded the number of destinations served by the Mercer County/Trenton airport to 17.
With the economy recovering, airlines are seeing stronger demand for service and have shifted flights to more potentially profitable markets. In Philadelphia, highly regarded Virgin American Airlines will suspend service this fall after securing more lucrative routes in Dallas and Washington, D..C.
The loss of Denver service will leave travelers with fewer options for Wilmington/New Castle passengers seeking connections to the west for winter or ski trips. Also, Frontier traffic from Denver, its busiest airport, has posted increases of late, after steady losses, due to growing competition in the Colorado capital.
A spokesman for the River and Bay Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
