Frontier Airlines will begin nonstop service from Dane County Regional Airport to Denver with one daily flight beginning May 3, the airline announced Thursday.
The low-cost airline will fly out of Madison on a 99-seat Embraer 190, a newer-model aircraft with two-by-two leather seating. The flight out of Madison will leave at 6:55 p.m., arriving in Denver at 8:30 p.m. The flight from Denver arrives in Madison at 6:20 p.m.
The company did not announce a fare price and said sales would begin Feb. 14.
"This is certainly welcome news," Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said in a statement. "We're pleased to have a low-fare carrier serve our airport and open up more westbound destinations for travelers."
United Express also has daily nonstop service between Madison and Denver.
Airport Director Bradley Livingston said efforts to bring Frontier to Madison had been under way for six years.
"It was an ongoing process involving the Convention and Visitors Bureau and Chamber of Commerce partners," he said.
Frontier Airlines is a subsidiary of Republic Airlines Holdings. Republic also owns Midwest Airlines and Midwest Connect, the latter of which serves Madison.
The original Frontier Airlines began in 1950 and was serving Madison when the company was sold in 1986 to People Express. In 1994, the company relaunched and now flies to 60 destinations in the U.S., Mexico and Costa Rica and is the second-largest carrier out of Denver International Airport. It has a codeshare partnership with Midwest Airlines.
