Frontier Airlines: Soaring Above Change and Challenges

Frontier Airlines is based in Denver, Colorada, an ultra low-cost carrier operating as a subsidiary of Indigo Partners, LLC. It caters to more than 75 destinations, offering flights around the US and to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, and Costa Rica. A Frontier Airlines hub is located at the Denver International Airport, serving focus cities like Cleveland, Ohio; Trenton, New Jersey; Wilmington, Delaware; and Washington, D.C. An agreement with the Great Lakes Airlines also allows the airline to connect passengers to the Rocky Mountain States.

Incorporated in 1994, the current Frontier Airlines was established by a group of executives from the previous Frontier Airlines company in response to the gap that Continental Airlines left when it shut down its Denver hub in 1993. Scheduled flights began on July 1994, a few months after incorporation, using Boeing 737 jets. Flying out of Denver, the airline’s slogan “The Spirit of the West” was apt.

In 2008, Frontier Airlines filed for bankruptcy when First Data, the airline’s credit card processor, said it would be withholding ticket sales starting May 1. While First Data’s actions terribly hampered operations for the airline, it was able to continue uninterrupted because its Chapter 11 Bankruptcy status protected its assets and allowed restructuring. It wasn’t until November of the same year that Frontier Airlines posted profit since it filed for bankruptcy.

Several bids to acquire the airline was placed but Frontier Airlines ended up with Republic Airways Holdings in August 2009. Republic consolidated administrative positions to accommodate the acquisition, moving airline executives to Indianapolis. Frontier Airlines kept its headquarters in Denver though for training, marketing, scheduling & planning, and customer reservations.

In October 2013, Indigo Partners acquired Frontier Airlines from Republic for $145 million, completing the transaction in December. As of June 2014, Frontier Airline’s fleet includes the Airbus A319-100, Airbus A319neo, Airbus A320-200, and the Airbus A320neo.