Frontier route news and new start-up Lynx Aviation

[Henry Tenby]

Frontier Airlines Reinforces Capacity to Top Destinations and Prepares for the Start of New Subsidiary, Lynx Aviation
Thursday November 8, 4:21 pm ET
Frontier adds frequencies from hub, makes changes throughout its system


DENVER, Nov. 8 -- Frontier Airlines will add frequencies and/or capacity to seventeen of its top performing domestic markets to and from Denver. All of the mainline additions will be aboard Frontier's new all-Airbus A319 and A318 fleet, which features 24 channels of DIRECTV as well as four choices of first-run pay-per-view movies, 33 inches of legroom and as always, outstanding customer service including pre-assigned seating and the industry's best frequent flyer program: EarlyReturns.

Reinforcing its hub service will allow Frontier to take advantage of the greatest profit potential for its fleet, and will be used to support the start up of its new subsidiary, Lynx Aviation, which is expected to begin service in December 2007. The new Lynx service represents an increase in the number of passengers who will connect via the Denver hub and the additional seats made available by closing unprofitable routes will provide the greatest opportunity for success with the new regional operation.

"We made several changes to our revenue management process back in March and those changes, combined with greater traction in customer loyalty and recognition, have created record load factors and revenue growth for four straight months," said Frontier President and CEO Sean Menke. "The schedule changes we are making today are focused on leveraging the strong demand we have seen in these markets. The additional Denver capacity will be critical to the start-up of Lynx in mid-December as it will allow us to protect the current traffic volume while providing the greatest potential for system contribution from connecting traffic via Lynx.

"The decision to cancel or suspend service in certain markets was difficult due to the fact that it impacts the lives of some of our exceptional employees, but as we continue to focus on sustained profitability we will continue making strategic decision that will help us fulfill our objective. To that end, we continue to analyze our fleet deployment as well as our fleet requirements as it relates to capacity needs going forward. We have a tremendous asset in our Denver hub and we are focused on leveraging that asset to the fullest extent possible to extract the maximum profitability from every aircraft in our fleet."

Frequency Changes and Discontinued Markets

Frequency and capacity additions to/from Denver beginning Jan. 18, 2008:

Market Current Frequency Jan. 18, 2008 Frequency
Atlanta Four daily Five daily
Billings Two daily Three daily
Indianapolis Four daily Five daily
Las Vegas Six daily Nine daily
Los Angeles Six daily Seven Daily
Louisville Two daily regional Two daily mainline
(effective 1/10/08)
Minneapolis Three daily Four daily
Oklahoma City Two daily Four daily
Orlando Two daily Three daily (effective 1/5/08)
Phoenix Six daily Seven daily
Portland Three daily Four daily
Rapid City Two daily Three daily
San Diego Six daily Seven daily
Seattle Three daily Four daily (effective 1/7/08)
Spokane Two daily Three daily
St. Louis Three daily Four daily
Tucson Two daily Three daily

Discontinued or seasonally reduced service:

-- Service from San Jose (SJC) and Sacramento (SMF) to Los Cabos (SJD) and
Puerto Vallarta (PVR) will be discontinued after Jan. 7, 2008.

-- Service from Memphis (MEM) to Las Vegas (LAS) and Orlando (MCO) will be
discontinued Jan. 4, 2008, and Jan. 7, 2008, respectively. Service
between Memphis and Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) will be discontinued after
Jan. 6, 2008.

-- Service from Denver to Guadalajara (GDL) will be discontinued after
Jan. 14, 2008.

-- Daily service from Denver to Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo (ZIH) will become
Saturday-only service Jan. 5 through April 12, 2008, and will be
discontinued after April 12, 2008.

-- Service to Cancun (CUN) from Indianapolis (IND), Nashville (BNA) and
St. Louis (STL) will be reduced to weekend service for the winter
schedule and will be seasonally removed for the summer and early fall.

-- Daily service from Denver to Vancouver (YVR) will continue through
Jan. 7, 2008, and then will be seasonally discontinued, returning on
May 9, 2008, in time for the summer cruise season.

-- Daily service from Denver to Mazatlan will become three times a week
beginning Jan. 10, 2008, and will move to five times a week beginning
March 6, 2008.

[King F. Hui]

Originally Posted by Henry Tenby

-- Daily service from Denver to Vancouver (YVR) will continue through
Jan. 7, 2008, and then will be seasonally discontinued, returning on
May 9, 2008, in time for the summer cruise season.

It did not help to boost ridership when FR changed the flight to near midnight arrival at YVR and pre-dawn departure. This reduces ridership and increases cost (crew needs to overnight at YVR and away from home)

Like most US airlines failed at YVR, they did not promote the service at YVR. In contrast, look at Alaska Airlines who is quite successful at YVR. AS put on tons of promotion locally in YVR all the time.