Frontier resumes flights from Cedar Rapids to Denver

CEDAR RAPIDS - Frontier Airlines on Thursday resumed seasonal nonstop service between Cedar Rapids and Denver, upgrading the flights to Airbus A-320 180-seat aircraft.

The low-fare airline had been using Airbus A-319 aircraft with 138 seats. The first inbound flight from Denver to The Eastern Iowa Airport was nearly 80 percent booked and the return flight was 100 percent booked.

Frontier began seasonal service to The Eastern Iowa Airport in May 2012. The airline offers flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Flights leave Cedar Rapids at 7:15 p.m. and arrive in Denver at 8:29 p.m. (local time). The total flight time is about two hours.

Return flights leave Denver at 3:25 p.m. (local time) and arrive at 6:25 p.m. (Cedar Rapids time).

Frontier offers the round-trip service annually between April and October. The airline does not serve Cedar Rapids during the winter months, declining to pay a mechanic to stay overnight at the airport as well as the cost of auxiliary power to keep the aircraft heated.

Frontier passengers board and arrive through the airport's lower B concourse. The third phase - and largest project - in a $50 million terminal remodeling project will expand the concourse, adding a second level, more jetways or aircraft boarding bridges and additional seating.

Final design work is expected to be completed later this year, with construction projected to start in the spring of 2017.