Frontier Airlines confirmed this week that it’s coming back to Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, offering nonstop service to Denver starting Oct. 1. That’s excellent news for westward fliers looking for competitive fares, and just in time for the holiday season. No doubt the popular demand, in the form of more than 1,200 e-mails Frontier received from area residents, had an impact. But for the expansion to make sense long term, Frontier also will need get lots of people in the seats. Here’s hoping Frontier’s experience this time turns into a success story that attracts the attention of more low-fare carriers looking to expand.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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19 Comments
What will be interesting is whether the Frontier service, being on turboprops, draws anything but complaints that “it isn’t a jet”.
I like turboprops. They’re great for short flights.
Perhaps if they painted “Visit Cowtown” on the bodies of the aircraft, another solution could be put in the vest pocket of County managers.
I hope this works. I have seen zero effect of all the subsidies my tax dollars have given Airtran since my typical flight destination is the west coast. If Frontier can offer good connections on out to CA this could be great.
Turboprops? Who cares? It’s an airplane!
Ben, I certainly hope it works for you and others similarly situated. I seem to recall rejection, a few years ago, of service by a carrier by the Wichita flying public on the basis of it didn’t offer jet service. Hopefully, this attitude has passed.
VT – I have to onder what their problem is. I recall a flight I took to KC as a connection on to Myrtle Beach. Air MidWest prop job. My only problem is they wouldn’t let me sit where I wanted to! (Up front behind the wheel!) It got me to KC and onto my USAir flight on east.
I suggested that if Wichita wanted to get into the airline subsidy business that we should have subsidized a shuttle o KCI from which passengers can go anywhere instead of just flights to selected ‘favored’ destinations.
Although I don;t particularly like turboprops, in many instances they make great economic sense. The hard part, it seems, is for many of Wichita and the surrounding area to realize, is that, now matter how much they try, they are still small time, with a small market
It is funny how fast the airline industy changes. Not so far in the past RJ’s were the future of regional air travel. They replaced older turbo-prop aircraft that left the passangers rattled and deaf. The airlines realized very quick that in order to make money on an RJ, an airline would either have to sell very expensive tickets or come up with a new turbo-prop. That is where the Q400 comes from. The Q400 is now the future of regional air travel. The “Q” is as fast as an RJ/mainline aircraft on short routes (200-500 miles), as quite as a MD80/737-300, and more importantly is very, very efficient. The reason the first go around with Frontier did not work was two fold. First, an airline can not sell cheap tickets and make money with 19-50 seat aircraft period. Secondly, Frontier as a whole had little control over the product offered by the regional that was farmed to do the first Wichita flying. Frontier now has a very comfortable, fast, and reliable aircraft that has enough seat to offer Frontier’s true LLC product. Wichita has supported prop service before when AA switch to props back in the 90’s. Now AA has brought back mainline service mixed with RJ’s. Who knows, maybe if enough people fly this new srvice Frontier will bring in a mainline flight?
Good observations Buck. I will add one point – speed isn’t really very important. After all, how long can it take to get to KC or Denver? It’s not like we are flying to the coast. The real key IMO will be good connections in Denver.
This is nice news. You can fly to Denver $109 one way, and then on to any other western state at low cost via Frontier or Southwest. If you have some layover wait-time for some flights, Denver International has a plethora of eateries and shops to pass the time.
These aren’t the old turbo props from back the old days. And case in point, Europe uses Turbo Props all the time for their short flights.
The Turbo Prop planes coming to Wichita from Frontier are the largest models, known as the Q400. These are 74 seat models and as large as any any of the smaller size turbo jet models.
It’s a sweet airplane.http://www.q400.com/q400/en/home.jsp
Agreed Joe. These are sweet aircraft.
I assume they will board via the ‘tunnels’ like regular jets and not off the tarmack like the little prop jobs I have also flown out of Mid-Continent?
You’re right! They board like regular jets.
One time though I boarded a jet on a tarmac at DFW of all places.
That’s because they ran out of open terminal gates and the other spokes was being remodeled. So they put on on a bus and took us out to a tarmac to board a Boeing 737 like the old days. I don’t know how they handle handicap people.
Joe, I imagine especially in DFW that was a bummer. At least in Mid-C the system is small enough you don’t feel like a flea out there in a sea of concrete!
That old AirMidwest flight I mentioned above was a ‘board from the tarmac’ flight. No big deal really – they got me where I needed to be efficiently.
I just talked to my pilot friend about the Q400. He told me it’s a new plane and the fastest turbo prop in the market.
He also told me it has a cabin noise suppression system that is quite unique. Its a system that emits a vibration frequency that is in the opposite of that of the turbo props causing almost a noise cancellation of the engine noise. He said it was super quite. One hell of a sweet ride and the future of short hop/short altitude flights.
Neat technology Joe. I had read about it – make ‘anti-noise’ to cancel noise. Definitely a good thing. hopefully the ‘jet snobs’ will give this a chance.
I have long maintained that the best approach to out air fare problem is to get ‘hops’ to KC, Denver, maybe OkC and Dallas. Then fly anywhere from there.
There would be some logical direct flights from Mid-continent but I cannot see how they can be to everywhere. San Jose? Not likely. But, from Denver … perhaps I can catch one.
You have to include Atlanta and Chicago. Those are the largest hubs in the USA.
If Wichita can have low cost to Atlanta, Denver and Chicago, you can get anywhere else from there. This will be 2 of the 3.
i tend to agree with Chicago and Atlanta; the only problem is if I am looking at small ‘puddle-jumpers’ for a shuttle the distance is a bit long. You are correct that they are two BIG hubs.