New Airline to Service Tulsa

Mark Unruh and friends are on their way to Vegas. And before he ever rolls the dice, it's costing him.<br/><br/>Mark Unruh: "We struggled finding a real good deal, where usually you can get to Vegas

Thursday, March 31st 2005, 4:01 pm

By: News On 6

Mark Unruh and friends are on their way to Vegas. And before he ever rolls the dice, it's costing him.

Mark Unruh: "We struggled finding a real good deal, where usually you can get to Vegas pretty cheap."

To some extent, ticket prices are influenced by the number of competing flights a town has. And since Sept. 11th the number of seats available in Tulsa has shrunk 20 percent.
But now a new airline has been added. Frontier Airlines will set up at this ticket counter next to American.

Mary Smith: "That hasn't happened in a long time... that's very exciting."

Tulsa Airport's Mary Smith says for now, it's just two flights per day to Denver, but of course from there, one can fly to Frontier's other 18 or so destinations. Or switch to another airline.

Mary Smith: "We already have service to Denver but this is going to bring some very competitive, low-fare service to Denver and that's very important... the other service to Denver will probably respond and that's ultimately good for the consumer."

Mayor Bill LaFortune praised the news.

Bill LaFortune: "Air service in our airport is one of our greatest economic development tools... and if we want to attract businesses and retain them, the flight service in and out of Tulsa is critical. I know that we have a major corporation in Tulsa for example that has to fly to Denver."

And Mark will be happy to know they do fly to Vegas from Denver.

Mark Unruh: "Sounds real good to me. If it's, yknow, maybe more competition, maybe it will help with the prices."

Frontier's service begins May 22nd. But they're already selling tickets. In fact, they're offering 99-dollar flights, one-way, to many of their destinations, including Seattle, Los Angeles, and Portland among others. The offer ends tomorrow.