Frontier aircraft in San Juan, Puerto Rico By. FRONTIER AIRLINES
Frontier Airlines announced Tuesday the commencement of a new, thrice weekly route between St. Croix and Puerto Rico beginning June 2, with inaugural rates at $19 one-way.
The announcement marks the beginning of stiff competition amongst carriers with operations in the USVI, with Frontier allowing customers to book connecting flights from Puerto Rico to Miami and Orlando.
Speaking to the Consortium on Tuesday during an interview, Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said the company aims to make access between the two U.S. territories more affordable. "These are the best prices you're going to find, so if you're interested in going you should buy one, buy two, buy three," Mr. Biffle said. "You're always going to be able to count on us for the lowest prices out of St. Croix."
The St. Croix-Puerto Rico service is part of new routes announced today across 38 airports, according to a press release Frontier issued. "We've just been looking at serving new places that are underserved or overpriced or both," Mr. Biffle said, pointing out that St. Croix hasn't seen this level of access to San Juan in a long time.
To St. Croix residents, he said, "We hope that you make it really successful. We can move it up to daily. If people in St. Croix support the service and use the service and go back and forth, and we start getting more people to come to St. Croix as tourists, then the more people you get on the plane, the more flights you get," he added.
Dept. of Tourism Commissioner Joseph Boschulte stated, “It is with great pride that we welcome Frontier Airlines to the beautiful island of St Croix. This new thrice-weekly route provides expanded opportunities for increased visitation and additional connectivity for travelers from the mainland U.S. and the neighboring Caribbean islands.”
Regarding the aircraft servicing St. Croix, Mr. Biffle stated, "You're going to get one of the newest airplanes in the Americas and you're going to have a great, low price to get you there. And you're going to get our friendly customer experience."
Passengers will not only have the choice to fly directly to San Juan, they will have the option of connecting to Miami or Orlando. Flights will be available Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, the CEO said.
