Frontier Airlines adding service from Mesa Gateway

Another airline has announced that it plans to begin service from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.

In a press release, the airport and Frontier Airlines said the airline will begin service at the airport on Nov. 15.

The airline will only fly to its hub, Denver, meaning that Arizona travelers now have another option when planning travel, both domestically and internationally.

“The business travel market is something we really haven’t been able to do,” said Marc Garcia with the Mesa Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Frontier offers that opportunity. It also offers some connections for international travelers, with just one connecting flight.”

According to BestFares.com CEO Tom Parsons, business travelers look to have a minimum of two flights per day, meaning the new route could take some time to develop into a commute.

“Business travelers like to have at least two or three flights per day,” he said. “It’s really more of a leisure route. If they see the response is good, they’ll probably add a second or third [flight], at which time maybe business travel will take more advantage of the new Mesa [flight].”

Frontier is in its 19th year of operation and said it looks forward to serving the East Valley.

“Seeing that Denver is the top air travel destination from Phoenix, this expansion into the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport allows us to further differentiate our product offering, providing greater convenience and access to customers living and working in the East Valley community,” Frontier Vice President, Network and Revenue, Greg Aretakis said in the release. “We have received tremendous community support and look forward to bringing our high value, low fare service to east valley travelers who currently have few customer friendly options.”

Parsons said he expects fares to get more competitive and expects the airport to keep growing as it adds more flights to western states.

Allegiant and Spirit Airlines already serve the airport.