Jackson Free Press

JACKSON — Frontier, the budget airline that promises to bring its customers "Low Fares Done Right," descended upon Jackson today to announce direct flights to Denver and Orlando. It will begin in October but tickets are available for purchase right away.

As Jonathan Freed, director of corporate communications for Frontier Airlines, pointed to the newly revealed Frontier banner at the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport this morning, he promised that the advertisement for $39 routes was not a joke.

"Air travel shouldn't just be kept for those who can afford higher prices," Freed said. He added that he sees low fares as a "great equalizer," so the low fares are not a gimmick.

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, whose late mother was a flight attendant, thanked Freed and the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority Board for bringing a low-cost carrier to Jackson. The mayor characterized Jackson as a "business-friendly city" and said he was excited to address concerns he had heard while campaigning about bringing more affordable flights to the capital city.

"Today signifies that we've heard you, and that we have an airport that is a tremendous resource to our city," the mayor said. "This is our airport, and it is going to continue to be a resource for this community and continue to be a growing institution. We are happy for the relationship with Frontier."

Recently, the city's newly hired financial consultant, Michelle L. Thomas, said that the airport is among the entities that should bring more funds to the City of Jackson. "I've never seen a city with an airport not generating any revenue from the airport," she said at a Jackson City Council meeting in June.

Email city reporter Ko Bragg at [email protected] and read more at jfp.ms/airport.