Under the agreement, Frontier JetExpress will launch two daily flights seven days a week to Denver. That service will expand to three weekday flights by the end of October. The service will be provided in 50 passenger Canadair Regional Jets.

Introductory fares to Denver will be on sale Thursday, August 8th for $99 one way. At that time travelers will also be able to book flights for the entire Frontier network. Frontier Jet Express executives estimate fares between Wichita and Denver will be reduced by 40%. People flying from Wichita to other destinations in the western United States will see an overall reduction of between 20% and 25%.

“We launched the Fair Fares Campaign to bring down the sky-high airfares which punished Wichita and much of Kansas. We’ve brought those fares back to earth and we are now saving businesses and leisure travelers millions of dollars,” said Wichita Mayor Bob Knight.

It’s estimated AirTran and Frontier JetExpress will save travelers a combined total of more than $60-million in airfare costs during the first year. Landing AirTran and Frontier JetExpress now makes it possible for business and leisure travelers to fly from Wichita to 32 of the top 50 destinations at prices competitive with the airports in Kansas City and Oklahoma City. In fact in many cases, flying from Wichita costs less than from Kansas City or Oklahoma City.

The agreement, negotiated with Mesa Air Group which operates Frontier JetExpress, calls for the City of Wichita to commit a $500,000 financial incentive for one year. That money will be paid if the service loses money. The City of Wichita will also help promote the new service as part of the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport Marketing program which has already been approved and is getting underway. Businesses pledged $2.4-million to Frontier as part of the Fair Fares Travel Bank. That money is not part of the agreement with the City. However, businesses which pledged that money will be asked to follow through and use their travel bank commitment to Frontier.