Denver-based Frontier Airlines may begin hunting a new destination in Louisiana because the airport in New Orleans is closed indefinitely due to Hurricane Katrina, Frontier’s chief executive said Thursday.
The airline could fly to Baton Rouge or a city in another state while it waits for a clearer picture of New Orleans’ future, CEO Jeff Potter told shareholders.
“We are in the process of looking at other opportunities to use those aircraft,” he said. “New Orleans is obviously going through a very challenging and difficult time. We’ll just have to take a wait-and-see attitude.”
Frontier, which had one daily flight between New Orleans and Denver, has contributed to relief efforts by ferrying evacuees to Denver.
Potter said Frontier executives probably won’t know the financial impact of the New Orleans service loss until they better understand how the market will look in the next six to 12 months. Frontier serves 48 destinations in 29 states.
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation’s No. 3 carrier, and discount airline AirTran Airways plan to resume commercial service to the Gulfport, Miss., airport, also affected by Katrina.
