After flying without a marketing and route development director all year, Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks is losing an airline and a nonstop destination to the Midwest in September.
Frontier Airlines announced this week it will no longer provide its nonstop services between Bradley and Milwaukee, which began last September. That was the only flight the Denver-based airline operated out of Bradley, and the only direct flight between Connecticut and Wisconsin.
“It was a business decision on the part of the airline, and Bradley airport is working hard to bring new travel options to our customers every day,” Bradley spokesman John Wallace said.
The loss of Frontier comes after the Bradley lost its marketing and route development director, Luis Perez, after less than six months on the job. The high profile position is vital to the recruitment and retention of new airlines and routes.
Bradley has had much difficulty keeping that route development position filled. Before Perez was hired, the position was vacant for a half-year as well after Kiran Jain left in 2009.
Jain was vital in securing a Delta Airlines non-stop flight between Hartford and Amsterdam, and Delta stopped offering that flight long before Perez took the position.
Because of problems such as these, the Connecticut General Assembly this month passed legislation creating a Connecticut Airport Authority, a quasi-public organization designed to move faster and more efficiently in dealing with issues such as staffing and administrative decisions. Gov. Dannel Malloy has yet to sign the bill, although he is expected to as it was an important part of his campaign.
