Just in time for late-summer vacations, City leaders and airline officials announced Thursday the start of new nonstop service to nine cities from San Antonio International Airport.
Beginning in August, low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines will offer nonstop flights to Albuquerque, New Mexico; Charlotte; Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; Memphis, Tennessee; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Omaha, Nebraska. Eight of the nine destinations were previously unserved with direct flights from San Antonio. American Airlines offers nonstop service to Charlotte.
The new flights make Frontier Airlines the largest carrier at the airport in terms of destinations served. The Denver-based airline began offering flights out of San Antonio in early 2016 with the launch of a nonstop flight to Philadelphia.
“The greater San Antonio and Central Texas communities continue to respond well to our ‘Low Fares Done Right’ philosophy and we are proud to continue our commitment and bring even more low fares to San Antonio,” stated Josh Flyr, vice president of Network Planning and Revenue for Frontier Airlines.
In addition to the nine flights announced Thursday, which will be offered seasonally, Frontier added five flights last fall and another five in April.
Starting May 18, Frontier will offer introductory fares to the new destinations. Flight service begins in August and the special fares are available for travel through Nov. 14. For ticket information, visit the airline’s website.
“These new destinations will entice people who weren’t already traveling to consider summer travel plans, and offers yet more options for business travelers,” said Russ Handy, aviation director for the City of San Antonio.
Earlier this week, United Airlines announced it is increasing nonstop service between Newark Liberty International Airport near New York City to several destinations, including San Antonio. Two daily flights between Newark and San Antonio start in October.
The new Frontier flights will bring the total nonstop destinations from San Antonio’s airport to 53, including direct flights to five cities in Mexico and to Toronto in Canada.
A record 848,233 total passengers flew through the international airport during March, according to the most recent aviation report. That was a 10.6 percent increase over the same month in 2017 and represented the highest level of traffic for any month on record (except July 2017).
Last fall, Mayor Ron Nirenberg appointed a committee of business, aviation, and tourism experts to help gather and analyze data that will help City officials determine the best course for enhancing air transportation in San Antonio.
The committee’s study of whether to enhance the current international airport, as well as consider the feasibility of an additional regional airport, began in January, and their findings were expected within six months.
