2:00pm | Representatives from the City of Long Beach and the Long Beach Airport waved off the first flight from Frontier Airlines today, the starting point for what they believe will be a strong business relationship with a new partner.
“Really, this is the community’s airport,” said Long Beach Airport director Mario Rodriguez. “We’re just improving the community’s airport and making it more accessible.”
The arrival of both Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Airlines to the airport’s growing fleet of carriers has been heralded as a major breakthrough as LGB continues to takes steps toward improvement.
Ground was broken on a new parking structure last year, and designs for a full revitalization of the grounds were revealed just weeks ago. The addition of these two airlines – Allegiant will begin operating within the next few months – gives customers more variety to choose from.
Frontier will fly mainly to its company hub in Denver, but can go to more than 70 locations from there. Rodriguez says that is invaluable to the Long Beach Airport in its effort to connect travelers to almost anywhere in the world in just one stop.
“We’ve got a goal here, and the new terminal is a part of it, the groundbreaking is a part of it,” says Rodriguez. “It’s a very simply objective, but one that’s very difficult to achieve: to exceed the customer’s expectations.”
From left, Frontier Airlines’ Vice President of Strategy and Planning Daniel Shurz, Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster and Long Beach Airport director Mario Rodriguez as the plane prepares for flight.