$29 to get from Tampa to Raleigh? Don't mind if we do. Credit: North Caroline Department of Transportation via Flickr/public domain

$29 to get from Tampa to Raleigh? Don’t mind if we do. Credit: North Caroline Department of Transportation via Flickr/public domain
Starting May 1, Frontier Airlines will offer nonstop service from Tampa to — among other cities —Raleigh, North Carolina. To get people on board — literally — the fare will cost $29 (not forever, but at first). Service runs Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Other announced cities include the far less exciting Albany, New York, the infinitely colder Hartford, Connecticut, the oh-my-god-I-need-to-drive-the-LIE Islip, New York, the yay-we-get-real-cheesesteak Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the I-could-drive-there-faster-than-it-takes-to-go-through-TSA Jacksonville, Florida and the why-the-hell-are-we-going-to Columbus, Ohio.

Currently, Allegiant Airlines offers a nonstop from St. Petersburg-Clearwater to Raleigh, but for travelers who want a better-than-average chance their flight won't get canceled due to a mechanical issue, that's a non-starter. Plus, according to this report, Frontier loses fewer checked bags than Southwest.

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This article appears in Jan 3-10, 2019.

Cathy's portfolio includes pieces for Visit Florida, USA Today and regional and local press. In 2016, UPF published Backroads of Paradise, her travel narrative about retracing the WPA-era Florida driving...