Frontier to ax Indianapolis-Cancun flights

ByABC News
March 24, 2008, 12:08 PM

INDIANAPOLIS -- Frontier Airlines is ending non-stop service between Cancun and Indianapolis International Airport in May, dealing a setback to airport officials' hopes that new international arrivals gates will boost the airport's overseas flights.

Frontier Airlines told The Indianapolis Star on Friday that it will end its non-stop service between Cancun and Indianapolis on May 31. The airline was the only one offering year-round non-stop flights to and from Mexico.

The decision was based on fuel costs and profitability, said Joe Hodas, spokesman for the Denver-based airlines.

"Frontier has been taking a scalpel to its route map where flights are not profitable, especially the longer-haul flights like Cancun to Indianapolis," Hodas said. "Some of the flights from Cancun to Indy were not filling up."

"It's all about fuel, and the airline industry just moves in and out of markets, so I don't see this as a strategic problem at all," said John Kish, project director for the Indianapolis Airport Authority. "This is a system restructuring for Frontier.

"We know this is not about Indianapolis, and we hope to coax them back once the fuel situation gets resolved."

Airport officials are now hoping that Northwest, which offers seasonal service to Cancun, and other airlines will take a look at local passenger demand and add year-round service, said airport service director Chris Matney.

In fact, Kish said earlier this week that the airport is talking to two airlines about that possibility but did not reveal which ones they were. He did say, however, that Frontier was not one of them.

Frontier's decision comes just as airport and city officials have been expressing hope that the new terminal's international gates, which will replace the aging International Arrivals Building, will enhance the city's reputation as a host for conventions and sporting events and possibly increase the airport's international flight count.

During a media tour of the international gates and the rest of the airport Wednesday, a moving sidewalk was rolling and sections of the $27 million baggage handling system were moving along in test runs, though they won't be carrying real passengers and luggage until Oct. 28.