Frontier Airlines offers new flights from Florida to Upstate New York

Frontier Airlines is opening service from Florida to the mid-Hudson Valley region of Upstate New York, offering consumers yet another offbeat choice for flying to the Northeast.

TheDenver-baseddiscount carrier launched its first flight last Monday out of Orlando International Airport to Stewart International Airport near Newburgh, New York, which is roughly 75 miles due north of New York City.

The airline said it will start similar service from Miami and Tampa on Tuesday, offering limited introductory fares of $29.

The airline will not be serving Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, as it left Broward County in favor of Miami International Airport in 2017.

Frontier’s latest maneuver is another example of an airline choosing a smaller regional airport to provide service from Florida to the

Northeast. The company now uses seven New York State airports. Similarly, on Nov. 5 Avelo Airlines will start discount flights between Fort Lauderdale and New Haven, Connecticut.

The rural Hudson Valley area has become a haven for New Yorkers who left the city during the COVID-19 pandemic — according to the Wall Street Journal and other reports, many former city dwellers started to migrate upstate in large numbers last year to buy new primary homes and start businesses.

Aggressive recruiting

In October 2020, JetBlue Airways halted service between Stewart and Fort Lauderdale due to a drop in passenger traffic. That left Allegiant as the only carrier serving Stewart, according to the airport website. It currently offers nonstops to Orlando, Punta Gorda and St. Pete-Clearwater/Tampa.

As a result, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spent a considerable amount of time and money wooing airlines, including Frontier, to serve Stewart.

“Landing Frontier in Stewart is no small peanuts,” said U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, according to the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union. “Frontier’s new service from the Stewart Airport to Florida will usher in a great new destination option for Hudson Valley residents and boost the region’s economic recovery from the pandemic.”

Next year, Stewart is expected to host Norse Atlantic Airways, a new discount international carrier based in Norway.

Last week, the airline, which will have its U.S. operations based in Fort Lauderdale, announced it will start transatlantic service to London, Paris and Oslo from Stewart, as well as from Ontario Airport in California and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood.