Feb. 28--Denver-based Frontier Airlines will begin flying out of Lehigh Valley International Airport in May, offering one-way flight to Orlando for as little at $90.
The low-cost carrier will be flying just two flights a week to Orlando -- on Tuesday and Saturday -- but airport officials are hoping it leads not only to more flights, but additional routes to places like Denver.
The announcement Tuesday comes on the heels of AirTran's announcement that it was suspending its air service from LVIA in August.
"We think this airport, armed with the right service, has an opportunity to explode," said Gregory D. Aretakis, vice president of revenue production for Frontier, during a news conference at airport. "We have affordable rates and good service. We think this is the right time to come to this market."
When Southwest announced in 2010 that it was merging with AirTran Airways, LVIA officials saw it as a chance to lure the industry darling it had coveted for years. AirTran was already at LVIA, and all they had to do was convince Southwest to stay once the merger was complete. The Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, which governs the airport, spent months showering Southwest CEO Gary Kelly with quirky, Lehigh Valley-unique gifts, and even visited Texas to try to convince him to bring his airline to the Lehigh Valley.
Last month, Southwest announced it was staying at 22 airports but pulling AirTran from six others, including LVIA. The loss is no easy pill to swallow for an airport trying to figure out how it will pay off the remaining $16 million it owes for a court judgment against it for taking development property in the early 1990s.
Airport officials are hoping the Frontier deal is the start of filling the void. Frontier will begin flying its 138-seat airbus from LVIA beginning May 26. Tickets are available now, and until March 14, one-way tickets will cost $90. After that, they'll increase to $100, Aretakis said.
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