TYLER, Texas — Tuesday, July 2 marked the inaugural flights to and from Denver, Colorado out of Tyler Pounds Airport on Frontier airlines.
The airline is offering non-stop flights to the mile-high city on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.
More than 100 passengers flew into Tyler on the first flight from Denver, with 179 flying out of Tyler.
"It was cheaper than I want to fly to Dallas. I'm like, Yes, I will be happy to do this more often," said Melinda Draschil who lives in Utah. She flew from Utah to Denver and then to Tyler, Tuesday afternoon to visit family.
Not only is it cheaper but Draschil says she hates driving.
"I hate driving. Especially at three in the morning driving all the way to Dallas and then having to catch a flight, I hate it," Draschil said. "So Tyler, it's been great. It's been perfect."
That drive is something East Texans were glad they did not have to make.
Rita Hairgrove lives in Timpson, Texas. Her drive to Dallas is about four hours compared to the hour and a half she drove to Tyler Regional Airport.
Not to mention figuring out where to go at the DFW Airport.
"We took my daughter-in-law up there and she flew from Dallas to Denver about a year or so ago. We went around that airport three times before we got to where we needed to be," Hairgrove explained.
Angela and Terry Love were also excited to be taking off from Tyler.
"It's a milestone for Tyler and then the airport itself, so feel pretty good about it," Terry said.
They travel to Denver regularly to visit friends and were glad to not make the two-and-a-half hour drive.
Frontier Airlines' Denver flight means there are now two airlines at the Tyler Pounds Regional Airport again. American Airlines has been the only provider ever since United Airlines left several years ago.
The City of Tyler says they have already seen American become more competitive with their pricing.
If Frontier is happy with how the flights to and from Denver are going, they have the option to add more destinations out of Tyler in the future.