Frontier Airlines NASDAQ: FRNT is a low-cost airline based at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, USA. It operates flights throughout the United States and Mexico.

History

The First Frontier

The original Frontier Airlines was founded by the June 1950 merger of Monarch Airlines, Challenger Airlines, and Arizona Airways, which served routes in the Great Plains and Western United States. It was based at Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, where it competed with Continental Airlines and United Airlines. Frontier further expanded its network by merging with Central Airlines in 1967.

The airline's economics declined in the 1970s, and plans to sell the airline to its employees, then to Frank Lorenzo's Texas Air group fell through. In 1985 it was acquired by People Express, but the merger pushed both companies into bankruptcy. In 1986, People Express and Frontier Airlines were both merged into Continental Airlines, a Texas Air unit.

The Second Frontier

The new Frontier Airlines was founded in 1994 by former Frontier executives. Scheduled flights began in 1994 utilizing Boeing 737 aircraft. Like the original, Frontier flies out of Denver and competes with United Airlines and its subsidiary Ted, each of which use Denver as a hub. In the late 1990s, Frontier began purchasing Airbus aircraft and offering DirecTV in-flight television on its new aircraft. In mid-April 2005, Frontier officially became an all-Airbus fleet, retiring its last 737. It now has an average fleet age of less than two years, making its fleet one of the United States’ youngest.

Frontier Airlines was the launch customer of the Airbus A318 in 2003, and now has seven in its fleet. Frontier has routes extending from coast to coast and to Mexico. The vast majority of its flights are through its Concourse A hub in Denver, although Frontier has recently begun direct service to Cancún from several other cities. Frontier did have an abortive attempt to establish a focus city at Los Angeles International Airport in 2003-4, but retreated under heavy competition. In 2006, Frontier returned to the California market with five daily point-to-point routes between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Frontier is facing major competition from Southwest Airlines, which entered the Denver International Airport market in January 2006. Due to Southwest's growth at Denver and a resurgent United Airlines, Frontier has limited space to grow at Denver without committing to airport expansion, which would in turn be paid for by higher fees to the airline.

Frontier has a codeshare arrangement with Horizon Air, serving several smaller markets using CRJ-700 aircraft under the name Frontier JetExpress. Frontier also Code codeshares with regional carrier Great Lakes Airlines, connecting flights at Denver International Airport.

Destinations

Destinations are listed at Frontier Airlines destinations.

Frontier is very discreet with their new destinations. In early March, Frontier announced they would begin flying to Calgary (Calgary International Airport). This is the first time a Low Cost Carrier based in the US has flown into Canada since Valujet flew to Montreal back in the mid 1990s.

Fleet

The Frontier Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (at May 2006):

• 45 Airbus A319-100
• 7 Airbus A318-110

The average Frontier Airlines fleet age is 2.6 years old as of March 2006.

Frontier has 6 Airbus A319-100, 4 Airbus A318-110, and 10 Airbus A320-110 on order to be delivered by 2011.

Trivia

Frontier airlines made history when it hired Emily Howell Warner in 1973. She was the first female airline pilot hired by a U.S. commercial airline. She was awarded her captain's wings three years later.

Livery

The Frontier Airlines livery consists of an all-white fuselage with silver billboard-style “Frontier” titles on the sides of the aircraft. Frontier uses wildlife photography on the vertical stabilizers and winglets of the aircraft to produce a distinctive look, touted in their advertisements along with their slogan: “A Whole Different Animal.”

The concepts used in the livery extend into Frontier’s marketing as well. Animal aircraft used in their radio and television commercials include Jack the rabbit, Grizwald the bear, Foxy the fox (for whom Jack has a crush), Flip the dolphin (who always gets stuck going to cold climates instead of Florida), Larry the lynx, and Sal the cougar. New additions are Penguins Jim, Joe, Jay, and Gary, a barbershop-style quartet, singing the praises of the program to an audience of Frontier’s well-known characters from the “a whole different animal” campaign, and Hector the otter, advertising Frontier's expanded service to Mexico.

Confusion with Frontier Flying Service

Frontier Airlines is occasionally confused with Fairbanks, Alaska–based Frontier Flying Service, because of the similarity in name. Passengers at Anchorage International Airport are especially prone to this confusion, because both Frontiers fly out of the airport, albeit from different concourses (The "Lower 48" Frontier uses B, while Frontier Flying Service uses A).

External links

• Frontier Airlines
• Frontier Airlines Fleet Age
• Frontier Airlines Fleet Detail
• Frontier Airlines Passenger Opinions