Old routines are hard to break, but losing that addiction to Denver International Airport gets easier by the day. That’s because the nearby, convenient, user-friendly Colorado Springs Airport keeps getting better.

As previously told in this space, Frontier Airlines added direct flights this year to five additional cities, including flights that begin Monday to Washington, D.C., and San Diego.

Gazette business writer Rich Laden reported that American Airlines on Wednesday launched daily nonstop flights from the Colorado Springs Airport to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Two daily nonstops will leave Colorado Springs at 7:25 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., returning from O’Hare at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

O’Hare is the third-busiest airport in the country and the sixth busiest in the world. As such, each direct flight puts our community within one gate change of the world’s great destinations.

“By this fall, the Colorado Springs Airport will offer nonstop service to 17 markets,” Laden wrote.

The airport is succeeding because a combination of business and political leaders decided to make it more competitive on price. By renegotiating debt and reducing other overhead, the city has passed along lower fees to airlines wanting to use the facility. By lowering costs for airlines, the carriers have lowered prices for customers. The addition of a first-class lounge has aided airlines in attracting customers who pay premiums for luxury, which helps subsidize lower prices for standard seats.

Read more at the Colorado Springs Gazette