Frontier Airlines ends service to Branson Airport

Frontier Airlines told the News-Leader on Wednesday that it has ended its service from Branson Airport to Denver.

"The Frontier business model is changing in many ways and the difficult decision to discontinue our service to Branson from Denver comes after careful analysis and evaluation," Frontier Director of Corporate Communications Todd Lehmacher said in a email. "Historically Frontier has relied on connecting passengers flowing through Denver. We are now focused on delivering ultra-low fares to local traffic via point-to-point service and at this time Branson doesn't fit within this shift in strategy."

Frontier flights out of Branson ended Oct. 25. The company's service was seasonal, so it wasn't immediately clear that it was exiting the market entirely, but Lehmacher confirmed flights will not resume in 2015. The airline first began serving Branson in 2010 and at one point had direct flights to Denver, Austin, Phoenix and Milwaukee.

"We sincerely appreciate the support the community and airport have provided Frontier," Lehmacher continued. "No customers were impacted by the change since there were no bookings beyond Oct. 25."

The decision by Frontier to exit the Branson market has not previously been reported outside of trade publications.

Frontier's exit means that the only service at Branson Airport is Branson AirExpress — operated by Elite Airways — which includes flights to Chicago Midway International Airport and William P. Hobby Airport in Houston.

Frontier is the second airline to exit the market this year. Southwest Airlines' last flight to Branson was in June.

Frontier is exiting about 20 markets from Denver in late 2014 and early 2015, according to data and analysis firm Centre for Aviation.

Because Branson Airport used tax-exempt municipal bonds to finance its construction, reports documenting the airport's finances are required to be publicly posted. Those documents do not mention that Frontier has pulled out of the airport. A financial operating filing posted Nov. 20 — almost a full month after Frontier's last flight — states that "Frontier will continue its daily service from Denver until the end of October when it will seasonally discontinue."

Branson Airport Executive Director Jeff Bourk told the News-Leader on Wednesday afternoon that he only learned Frontier was exiting the market "a week or two ago" — after the filing was posted. When Frontier left on Oct. 25, he said, he was under the impression the airline would resume service in May, as it had in the past. Frontier declined to comment on when it informed Branson Airport.

Branson Airport planned to release that Frontier was exiting the market in connection with an upcoming announcement of new service, Bourk said. He didn't specify what that service will be.

Bourk maintained that Frontier's decision does not reflect poorly on Branson Airport.

"Frontier and Southwest didn't leave Branson because of a problem with the market," Bourk said. "They both left the market because of their changing business models."