Airlines offer first-class seating in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - Airlines serving The Eastern Iowa Airport have been adding first-class seating in recent months.

Heather Wilson, director of marketing and communication for The Eastern Iowa Airport, said United Airlines was the first to introduce first-class seating in the market.

'United began offering first-class seating on flights to Chicago and Denver in March using Canadair CRJ-700 aircraft, which offer 70 seats,” Wilson said. 'It looks like we're seeing an increase in flights on those aircraft.

'In April, there were 29 flights to Denver on CRJ-700s. The airline is looking at traffic in this market to see what will work.”

Wilson said flights that attract business travelers, such as those in the early morning will likely get the larger aircraft.

'The airline will use the smaller regional jets for the time slots where it cannot fill a 70-seat aircraft,” Wilson said.

Delta Air Lines in April upgraded some flights to Atlanta using 76-seat Canadair CRJ-900 aircraft. Wilson said Delta also has added some CRJ-700s, which offer first-class seating.

While American Airlines has not added first-class seating, Wilson said the carrier has upgraded its fleet.

'American was originally flying 36-seat aircraft into Cedar Rapids,” Wilson said. 'They initially bumped up to 44-seat airplanes and now we're seeing 50-seat aircraft.”

The airport recently marked its eighth consecutive month of record traffic. Wilson said the airlines are watching what is happening in Cedar Rapids and adjusting their aircraft accordingly.

Wilson said Frontier Airlines will suspend flights to Denver in January and February due to weather and economics.

'The airline has to pay a mechanic to stay overnight at the airport and pay for auxiliary power to keep the aircraft at a certain temperature,” Wilson said. 'It's just not financially feasible for Frontier, which has seen its passenger load drop to 90 percent for those months.”