DENVER—Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. will debut a long-awaited turboprop operation this fall with service to four cities from Montana to Kansas.
Frontier said Tuesday it will begin flying the new turboprop planes in October on an existing route to Billings, Mont., and will introduce service to Wichita, Kan., Sioux City, Iowa, and Rapid City, S.D.
The four were among 62 cities that submitted proposals to Frontier for the service, which is designed to reach into underserved markets in the region. Other destinations, including mountain resorts, will be announced later this summer.
“They fit the profile in terms of distance to Denver and the competitive landscape and the needs of the community,” airline spokesman Joe Hodas said of the chosen cities.
And a little community support didn’t hurt, either. In Wichita, for example, more than 1,200 residents used a link on the airport’s Web site to e-mail Frontier asking for service.
“It got the people involved and it really gave Frontier a sense of the need here from the community,” said Valerie Wise, Wichita Mid-Continent Airport’s air service and business development manager. “These people, they just poured their hearts out.”
Aggressive fares and higher fuel prices have forced all airlines to look for ways to keep and attract business as travelers forsake loyalty to a particular airline in favor of the cheapest ticket prices and most convenient ways to travel, analysts say.
At its Denver International Airport hub, Frontier is in a battle against United Airlines and low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines, a fight that has triggered a fare war and boosted the number of travelers through the airport to record levels.
Frontier wants to expand into smaller cities where residents are eager for lower fares and more options and hopes to gain an edge by drawing more customers who could connect through Denver to other cities.
Frontier announced the new operation, dubbed Lynx Aviation, last fall when executives signed a $257 million agreement to buy 10 74-seat Bombardier Inc. turboprop planes. The first plane is due in late July.
Startup costs to date have been about $3 million, Hodas said.
The planes will be flown under the Frontier name and each tail will feature an animal similar to other Frontier aircraft, with the first plane displaying a baby lynx.
John Happ, a Frontier senior vice president, said the new service is a key step in the airline’s diversification plan. “These high-yield, smaller density markets can leverage the strengths of our Denver hub,” he said in a statement.
The airline will offer two daily round-trip flights each to Sioux City and Rapid City and three daily round-trip flights to Wichita.
Although Wichita’s airport has ample service to cities in the East, destinations to the West are limited to Denver on United Airlines; Phoenix on US Airways and Los Angeles on a contract carrier for Delta Air Lines Inc., Wise said.
“We value United but they aren’t a low-fare carrier and they don’t have any competition. Nor does US Airways,” she said. “Without competition there’s no pressure on prices.”
Wichita airport officials worked on their proposal for about a year, offering such things as a waiver of landing fees and terminal rent, and marketing, an incentive package worth about $600,000.
The Wichita area has about 750,000 residents and the airport draws from an area of a little more than 1.3 million.
Denver-based Frontier offers service in 30 states, Mexico and Canada.
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