Frontier Airlines applied today for federal authority to fly to Costa Rica.
Frontier applied for an exemption from the U.S. Department of Transportation to allow it to fly between points in the United States and various points in Costa Rica “and beyond.”
The Denver-based carrier asked for permission to operate scheduled and charter flights, and said it would use its 132-seat Airbus A319 airplanes to fly between the United States and Costa Rica.
No airline currently flies nonstop between Denver International Airport and Costa Rica.
Frontier chief executive Jeff Potter has expressed interest in flying to Costa Rica, as well as other international destinations such as Jamaica.
“Costa Rica is a popular destination, and we’ve had great success in Mexico, so this would kind of just be the next logical step here,” said Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas.
Frontier said its entry into the U.S.-Costa Rica market would expand options for travelers and stimulate more leisure travel.
Frontier earlier this year applied for blanket authority to fly to any country that has an open-skies agreement with the United States, including Costa Rica.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-954-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com .
