By Times of Trenton Editorial Board
on November 20, 2012 at 7:56 AM, updated November 20, 2012 at 7:57 AM
No sooner had Frontier Airlines established operations at Trenton-Mercer Airport, airline officials announced an expansion of its twice a week service to Orlando.
The airline, which launched its inaugural flight late last week from
the Ewing facility, also will add nonstop flights to Fort Lauderdale,
Fort Myers and Tampa, Fla., as well as New Orleans.
The welcome news eases the sting of Streamline Airlines’ decision to quit the airport and its service to Boston.
While Streamline catered primarily to business travelers and offered
just the one destination, Frontier’s focus is trained on leisure
travelers eager for a vacation or weekend of balmy weather away from the
cold clench of winter. It may prove to be the airline -– and airport —
of choice for families making a long-anticipated trip to one of the
Orlando-area theme parks as it draws some passengers from Atlantic City
or Lehigh Valley international airports.
And why not?
A Frontier Airlines official sees the airport as an undiscovered gem,
valuable by virtue of its accessibility from New York and Philadelphia
and spacious parking.
Passengers also will find value with low introductory fares until
Nov. 29 made possible partially by a lack of the traffic that’s often
apparent at other airports. Here, they won’t face the headaches of
parking congestion, long lines at check-in or often tardy takeoffs.
“When you spend 30 minutes on a plane waiting to take off in
Philadelphia, the pilots and flight attendants are being paid and the
airplane is burning fuel,” Daniel Shurz, Frontier’s senior vice
president for commercial, said in an interview with Times staffer Mike
Davis. “All that unproductive time frustrates customers and makes flying
out of those airports more expensive.”
Frontier’s new service also will open up the Mercer area to travelers
from Florida and Louisiana. The region has a lot to offer; according to
the state’s Division of Tourism and Travel, the county attracted more
than $1 billion in tourism dollars and travel spending in 2010.
The airline’s investment and quick service additions could be a
catalyst for other carriers. In the meantime, it certainly demonstrates
recognition of the region’s potential.
“The expansion of Frontier is one more step in a series of steps we will
take to develop this airport and the area as a whole,” Mercer County
Executive Brian Hughes said last week.
Operating for almost a century, Trenton-Mercer Airport continues to
act as an economic engine for the area with tax revenue and jobs it
provides.
We’re glad to see an expanded flight plan taking hold.
http://www.nj.com/times-opinion
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KTTN
http://www.state.nj.us
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