HEBRON, Ky. – Frontier Airlines is adding three new winter destinations from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky international Airport, including two Florida stops high on travelers' wish lists.
The ultra-low cost carrier formally announced the service change Tuesday morning. It will launch seasonal flights from CVG to Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Cancun, Mexico, later this year.
"We're excited. That's going to keep Frontier at 50 flights a week for the season," Bobby Spann, CVG vice president of external affairs, told WCPO. "Last year, they dropped down to about 38 (a week), so this will be a stronger winter for them here."
Frontier will fly nonstop to Tampa four days a week starting Oct. 30, Fort Lauderdale three days a week starting Oct. 31 and Cancun one day a week on Saturdays starting Dec. 17.
Introductory fares – valid only on July 19 – include $39 for Tampa, $49 for Fort Lauderdale and $119 to Cancun, Currently, the routes are scheduled to run until Feb. 27-28, 2017. All three destinations will be served by 180-seat, A320 aircraft.
“Cincinnati fliers have told us they want more warm weather travel options when the weather turns cold,” said Frontier's Daniel Shurz. “We’re excited to offer these great vacation spots so that travelers can get away.”
It's the first time CVG has had nonstop competition to Tampa. Delta currently flies two days a week to Tampa International. Allegiant lands at nearby St. Pete-Clearwater.
With the new winter service, Frontier in October will drop seasonal flights to Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston and Atlanta, Spann said, although he expects they'll bring those routes back in April.
"That's what ultra-low cost carriers do," he said. "In the winter, they fly north-south, and in the summer, east-west."
Overall, Frontier has had a strong year at CVG. It celebrated its one-millionth passenger in March – a mark fellow low-cost carrier Allegiant is on pace to hit in August – and, in July, launched an additional daily nonstop flight from CVG to Denver. In March, the latest month in which data was available, it handled more than 36,000 passengers, a year-over-year increase of 21 percent.
“Frontier has seen tremendous growth at CVG since it began three years ago,” Candace McGraw, CVG CEO, said. “The success is all due to the community’s positive response to having low-cost options to desired destinations.”
In other air service news, Allegiant will extend nonstop service to Destin, Florida, through the holiday season until Jan. 3, 2017. The original stop date was Oct. 17.
