Frontier Airlines EarlyReturns - United in Denver: They just don't get it

Story in Dever Post yesterday says UA is scaling back flights in DEN and subbing in RJs. They think folks are defecting to F9 and SW because of price. They don't get it. I fly F9 more and more because the experience is better, the planes are better, the FAs are better.

If UA is flying an RJ to ATL and F9 has a 737 w/ Direct TV, I'll take F9.
If UA is flying TED to LAS, I'll fly F9.
If UA is flying TED to MCO and Tampa, I'll fly F9.

So the more they switch to RJs, the more folks like me will fly Frontier.
The older the fleet gets. The more I'll fly Frontier.
The more expereinces with broken IFE, the more I'll fly Frontier.

Price is a factor but experience is a big part of repurchase decisions for many consumers.

No need for apologists to explain it's a legacy v. a LCC.

I think you are referring to this article: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_5751427

While it isn't wrong to assume that UA is targeting DEN for capacity reductions (because of the yield pressures experienced Southwest), they didn't explicitly state this in the earnings call. In fact, a reporter asked that specific question and management made it clear they intended to defend Denver.

You raise a valid point that with DirectTV (even though it's not free) and supposedly better service, F9 offers a better product than UA. But I'd definitely be curious to see how much of WN's traffic has come from UA vs. Frontier.

I'd also be curious to hear thoughts from F9 fans on how competition between WN/F9/UA will eventually shake out. Having three carriers competing on routes like DEN-TPA doesn't seem sustainable.

I think F9 is a viable business carrier, especially if they make a few changes like allowing seat selection BEFORE paying instead of after. The chaos that surrounds a typical WN boarding procedure isn't going to work for many business travelers that want to arrive reasonably close to depaturte times and don't want middle seats.

Shakeout and positioning?
UA is Saks with Kmart quality and attitude
WN is Walmart and aspires to nothing more than best LCC
F9 is Target that has upscale ambiitons for a good value

FT guidelines ask that the same topic not be posted in multiple forums. I am closing this thread, and ask that conversation continue in the same thread in United (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7651100).