Airline launches $49 flights to iconic East Coast beach

The new route is to a South Carolina shoreline with a strip of sand stretching 60 miles

Frontier Airlines is launching a new direct service to Myrtle Beach (Getty/iStock)

A new travel frontier is opening up this summer, with Frontier Airlines launching a new direct service to an iconic stretch of East Coast beach.

The ultra-low-fare carrier will begin a twice-weekly nonstop service between Trenton-Mercer Airport in New Jersey and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina from July 10 – and to celebrate is offering basic no-baggage fares as low as $49.

The resort city of Myrtle Beach sits on one of the most celebrated shorelines on the East Coast – a strip of golden granules known as the Grand Strand that stretches continuously for 60 miles (97km).

Murrells Inlet, to the south of Myrtle Beach, is a culinary haven (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

"People choose to visit the Myrtle Beach area for lots of reasons," writes Discover South Carolina's Libby Wiersema, "but it mostly boils down to this: options for fun."

She continues: "With 60 uninterrupted miles of beautiful sandy beaches, this coastal strip... is the necklace that strings together a diversity of beach destinations."

Take your pick, she says, from the quiet fishing village of Little River to the luxury resorts of North Myrtle Beach, and from the culinary haven of Murrells Inlet to the Southern pace of Pawleys Island.

Frontier Airlines is also launching a thrice-weekly nonstop service between Baltimore/Washington International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport on July 7.

“From the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic, and down the Eastern Coast, we are thrilled to announce these new routes as we continue our mission to offer our ultra-low fares to more travelers in more destinations,” said Josh Flyr, vice president of network and operations design, Frontier Airlines.

“We can’t wait for more consumers this summer to experience The New Frontier, proving that affordable air travel can also offer unmatched comfort and convenience.”

Frontier’s new service to Myrtle Beach begins on July 10. Above are Frontier aircraft at Denver Airport (AFP/Getty)

Frontier currently flies to Myrtle Beach from Cleveland, Long Island and Philadelphia.

In total, 10 airlines offer services to Myrtle Beach, from states including Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York and New Jersey.

But currently, the only direct New Jersey flights to Myrtle Beach are run by Spirit and United Airlines.

The former offers services from Newark and Atlantic City, with prices starting from $77, and the latter from Newark, with fares starting from around $140.