By Debbie Messina
The Virginian-Pilot
NEWPORT NEWS
Just over a year after launching service at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, Frontier Airlines will suspend flights here after the summer months and resume next year as a seasonal service.
Frontier, which launched service from Newport News in May 2010, operates four weekly flights to Denver on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They're the region's only nonstop flights to Denver.
The service will end Sept. 11 and will resume on March 3, 2012, to capture spring break travelers on ski vacations, said Jessica Wharton, an airport spokeswoman. The airline told airport officials the decision was based on rising jet fuel prices and declining travel after Labor Day.
Wharton said Frontier's flights are now running at capacity. The airline upgraded from a plane that seats 136 passengers to one with 162 for the summer months to accommodate the demand. Ticket sales drop by about half during winter months, she said.
"We feel comfortable with this decision; it makes business sense for them," Wharton said. "Other markets are losing the service altogether, including New Orleans and Hartford, but they've remained committed to us.
"Seasonal service is becoming more operationally routine for airlines in this economy."
Southwest Airlines' Las Vegas flights from Norfolk International Airport also run seasonally.
Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588,
