Frontier Adds Las Vegas, Orlando — Newcomer Takes on More Routes, Lowers Fare Prices

By Jane Roberts robertsj@commercialappealcom

Frontier Airlines Wednesday beefed up its buzz here by announcing that besides service to Denver, it will also offer a daily nonstop to Las Vegas and Orlando, starting May 12.

When the price was announced, a ripple of applause ruffled through the crowd at Memphis International Airport.

Introductory one-way fares, on sale now, are $79 for Orlando, $99 for Denver and $109 for Las Vegas, less than half what Northwest was charging Wednesday for advance-purchase to Las Vegas, for instance.

“This is a significant, significant reduction,” said Joe Hodas, Frontier spokesman in town to reacquaint the city with Frontier, which in an earlier form served Memphis from 1968-1984.

“We fly an all-Airbus fleet to 56 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico,” he said.

The new routes will be served by A319s, which seat 114 passengers, with televisions in every seat-back.

“You’re going to love the plane,” Hodas said. “Each seat has 33 inches of legroom. Our CEO is 6-2, and he’s very comfortable in the seats. I’m the wide guy, and I’m very comfortable in them.”

Northwest and United each serve Denver with three daily flights. Frontier brings the number to eight.

Frontier expects the flights will attract 50,000 passengers a year.

Northwest, the largest carrier by far here, would not comment on Frontier but did say it is currently reviewing new service opportunities from Memphis.

Travel experts say Frontier should have no trouble finding an audience here.

“They are going to get a lot of business on the Las Vegas route. We only have one nonstop and it leaves here at 7 p.m. It’s almost always full, so it’s hard to get on at a decent price,” said Vicki Rush, president and chief executive at A & I Travel.

Orlando, which she describes as “a very, very busy market out of here,” should be another winner.

The only snag, she said, will be customer loyalty to other carriers’ frequent-flier programs.

“Las Vegas is 1,400 miles one way. That’s a lot of miles. While people are certainly interested in the fare, they’re also interested in frequent-flier miles. “

By late Wednesday, prices on Northwest had already started to drop, said Heather Strickland at Travelennium.

“Orlando fares selected on a random date in April average around $275 on Northwest. After May, they drop to around $150 but usually require a two-night minimum or Saturday night stay,” she said.

“Airlines do a chain reaction. Where one goes, the others must follow. This is definitely a reaction to Frontier.”

But how long the prices will stay down remains to be seen, she said.

Memphis is the only market Frontier has launched in recent history with more than Denver service, a clue to what it found in its market research here.

Rush agrees Memphis is underserved because Northwest has not replaced all the seats it took when it eliminated its evening bank of flights in 2003.

“It’s not unreasonable for Frontier to expect to pick up numbers here. We’re down on the number of seats. And I have not seen airlines rush in to fill the void.”

The last carrier to enter the market was America West in 2003. Frontier itself was scheduled to begin service in Memphis last year but canceled within days of the public announcement.

“Nothing about Memphis has changed,” Hodas said. “From an operations viewpoint, we were not ready. It was us, not Memphis.”

In the meantime, it has beefed up its fleet, including ordering 10 Q400s, a 76-seat Bombardier turboprop it will fly through subsidiary Lynx Airlines to ski towns in the West.

Colorado is the No. 1 destination for Memphis skiers .

“From Memphis, you’ll be able to be in Aspen or Vail in a half day,” Hodas said.

-Jane Roberts: 529-2512

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