Jonathan Starkey

The News Journal

Apparently flying out of Philly isn't so silly, after all.

Frontier Airlines, which began service out of New Castle Airport last year to great fanfare, will suspend all service out of the local airport by April.

Meanwhile, the Denver-based airline will begin offering similar routes from Philadelphia International Airport next month.

In October, Frontier, which previously ran advertisements saying "flying out of Philly is silly," cut service from Delaware to Chicago-Midway, Denver, Atlanta and Fort Myers, Florida.

Detroit flights from Delaware had already ended.

The airline is only flying to Orlando currently out of Delaware. Tampa flights are expected to resume Dec. 20 through April.

In an email, Frontier spokesman Todd Lehmacher described the New Castle service cuts as "seasonal" but refused to elaborate.

"Our plan calls for a seasonal suspension of Wilmington service in April 2015," Lehmacher said. "We have not yet announced our intentions beyond that time."

"Certain routes have not shown the strength necessary to justify year-round service," he added.

Stephen Williams, director of airports for the Delaware River & Bay Authority, which operates New Castle Airport, said he was "disappointed" by the news.

Williams said he expects Frontier to resume service in the fall of 2015 or sooner to Tampa and Orlando "at a minimum."

"We are pleased that Frontier will continue to serve Wilmington seasonally in the future. Obviously, we would have preferred an announcement of an expansion of service, but we understand that they are limiting Wilmington - ILG to seasonal service now in order to build for the future," Williams said in a prepared statement.

Frontier planned to begin flights from Philadelphia to Miami, Orlando and Tampa on Dec. 20. Routes to Atlanta, Charlotte and Chicago-O'Hare will begin in the spring, Frontier said earlier.

Frontier began offering flights out of New Castle in the summer of 2013 for as cheap as $49, bringing commercial service back to Delaware.

Skybus Airlines offered commercial service briefly out of New Castle but ended flights in 2008. Delta also flew commercial out of Delaware but suspended service in 2007.

Alan Levin, director of the Delaware Economic Development Office, was still somewhat optimistic for Frontier. But he said the airline must show some commitment to Delaware if it wants to grow business here.

"They have told us this is seasonal," Levin said of the cuts. "There may be some optimism there. Truthfully, it's very hard to establish a business when it continually changes. If they want to get some traction, they've got to put roots down.​"

An airport worker who would not give her name for fear of losing her job said the cutbacks have meant job cuts and far lower levels of business inside the airport.

She hopes the service cuts will only be seasonal. But Frontier's waning commitment to Delaware has led to uncertainty, she said.

"One day you could walk in and they won't be there," she said.

Contact Jonathan Starkey at 983-6756, on Twitter @jwstarkey or at jstarkey@delawareonline.com.