Frontier reverses course, will continue flights to Aspen

As it turns out, Frontier Airlines will continue flying between Aspen and Denver.

Frontier Airlines announced Tuesday it will continue service between Denver and Aspen.

After making it known in late July that it planned to discontinue service here beginning this fall, the airline reversed course Tuesday afternoon and announced it has decided to service the Aspen-Denver route once a day from Oct. 1 through Nov. 17, then gear up for two departures per day Nov. 18 through Dec. 15, before ramping up to four daily departures from Dec. 16 through the length of the ski season.

"Frontier is very pleased to be able to continue to serve the Aspen area,” Daniel Shurz, VP of strategy and planning for Frontier, said in a prepared statement. "The versatility of the Q400 aircraft makes it an ideal and cost-effective aircraft to fly into Aspen and, with this continuing schedule, we will be able to offer travelers to Aspen a low-cost, high-quality experience for their fall and winter travel."

The company had previously planned to phase out the Q400 turboprops, which will now also be used to serve other Colorado routes like Durango and Colorado Springs.

Frontier's decision to stay in Aspen reportedly means 41,000 seats that were thought to be lost are back. It also means airfares should remain competitive and likely lower than they would had Frontier pulled out of Aspen.

It was an especially uplifting day for Aspen travelers. Earlier, the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport's longest airline partner, United Airlines, announced it was adding two non-stop flights this winter — a fourth daily flight between Aspen and Chicago and a second one to San Francisco. Delta Air Lines also confirmed last month it did not plan to continue flights between Aspen and Salt Lake City and Aspen and Atlanta this winter, but local officials said the extra two non-stop flights that United Airlines is planning makes up the difference in terms of seats.