Jamaican Leaders Seeking Restart of Nonstop Flight from Denver

Airport officials from Montego Bay, Jamaica, are talking with United Airlines about launching a nonstop flight between Denver International Airport and the island nation after Frontier Airlines discontinued its service between DIA and Jamaica last year.

Elizabeth Brown Scotton, chief commercial officer for Sangster International Airport, said she scheduled meeting time with DIA's largest carrier at the Routes Americas conference that is ongoing at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. The conference brings together officials from 283 airports, more than 80 airlines and 38 tourism authorities to discuss potential new nonstop flights across the world.

Frontier Airlines launched a weekly Denver-to-Montego Bay route in December 2013, offering the only direct flight between Colorado and Jamaica. The route did well and the planes filled a high percentage of seats, Scotton said, but Frontier discontinued it after one season.
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It was one of a number of flights it cut out of DIA as it transitioned from a more traditional carrier to an ultra-low-cost carrier that relies more on heavily traveled routes between larger cities.

Caribbean countries lack significant service from the Rocky Mountain West and West Coast, Scotton said.

Many such flights to smaller island countries require a partner tour operator who can book significant amounts of seats, she said. There is also a challenge for airlines flying from such a long distance that because of limitations on the amount of work that pilots and crew can undertake, they are not able to turn around and fly the plane back to the western United States after it lands in Jamaica.

Montego Bay officials have targeted DIA and Los Angeles International Airport as the top locations where they would like to add nonstop flights, Scotton said. They are hoping that United might be able to pair a Denver-to-Montego Bay flight with a shorter flight from Montego Bay to one of its eastern hubs in order to make it profitable.

Source: American Cities Business Journal