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Trenton, the gritty New Jersey state capital with a population of fewer than 100,000 people, might not be the first place tourism experts think about when putting together a visit Florida campaign.
But connecting the city, home to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, to Florida is a high priority for Allegiant and Frontier, two of the leading no-frills, low-cost airlines in the country.
Denver-based Frontier jumped on the Trenton trend first, when it recently announced new nonstop service from the city to Punta Gorda Airport, in Charlotte County. The flights will run Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, starting Oct. 31. In addition to Trenton, Frontier announced plans to begin service between Punta Gorda and Chicago and Philadelphia, also later this fall.
The trio of new markets marks another first at Punta Gorda Airport, which is on track to reach 1 million passengers this year and recently opened a new terminal building. Frontier becomes the first commercial carrier at Punta Gorda to compete for leisure travelers with Las Vegas-based Allegiant.
Allegiant got in on Trenton two days after Frontier's announcement, in a move airline officials say was long in the works. Allegiant plans to launch nonstop service from Punta Gorda Airport and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport to Trenton starting the first week of November.
In a counter-punch to Frontier's move into Punta Gorda, the flights mark Allegiant's debut at Trenton-Mercer Airport. Prior to Allegiant, Trenton-Mercer only had one other commercial carrier: Frontier.
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