Originally Posted by MikeFromMKE (Post 13191475)

F9 executives yes. So overall it's only a handful more than was already confirmed. They still maintain a large hub and employ approximately 3000 people. F9 is in no way leaving Denver in the near future.

Originally Posted by REVBedford

Weekly Letter from Bryan Bedford



For the week ended 1-15-10



Good afternoon. We are all watching the tragedy of the Haitian earthquake and the difficult relief

effort with much concern. The devastation in Haiti and the impact on an already impoverished

community is beyond heartbreaking. I have received hundreds of emails from concerned

employees who want to do something tangible to help in the “on the ground” relief effort. We

share your concern and, like with Katrina, we want to help. Wayne Heller our COO has been

working with several agencies to help transport doctors, nurses, equipment and supplies to Haiti

on our aircraft; however, we are encountering numerous obstacles to our operation of relief

flights. Nonetheless, he and his team continue to work toward launching our first relief flight this

weekend. Given the airport infrastructure problems, lack of aviation fuel and chronic airport

closings due to capacity limitations, it is almost impossible to “schedule” something like this, but

again we are engaged and working on tangible ways we can offer our support for the people in

Haiti. Meanwhile, please pray for the families who have lost loved ones and have been made

homeless from this disaster. I will be in touch with you to share our progress on our relief efforts

and other ways we may be able to contribute to the welfare of the people of Haiti.



In another shake up closer to home, Sean Menke, our EVP and CMO, has tendered his

resignation effective at the end of March. I am sure our co-workers in Denver are saddened and

disappointed by this development and I personally share that disappointment. I understand and

respect Sean’s decision and wish him well in whatever endeavors he decides to pursue in the

future. However, we have a serious amount of hard work ahead of us to execute the transition

program and we have 11,000 co-workers depending on us to deliver results. So in spite of our

collective disappointment, we need to remain fully focused and committed to the difficult work at

hand to move forward on the integration project and support our employees in the field so they

can continue to take great care of our passengers.



Sean’s departure undoubtedly raises questions and concerns for our Frontier employees. I wish

we didn’t have to take on this distraction at this critical point in the integration process; however, I

can assure you Republic is just as committed to this undertaking today as we were in September

when we won the Frontier bankruptcy auction. Our vision for the integration and development of

the branded business has not waivered. Our belief that we have great people, great products

and great opportunities to develop the branded business beyond Denver and Milwaukee has not

diminished. However, before we can move forward with the exciting work of extending the brand

into new territories, we have to work through the very difficult tasks of combining the leadership

teams, the technology and the brands.



As for the leadership team; there’s no getting around it, Sean’s unexpected departure throws

some doubt into the management team. As Winston Churchill said “Belief is power and doubt

cramps energy.” Sean’s departure creates doubt but we are going to have to “dig deep” and

move past this. Walking around the corporate offices in Denver, it is becoming clear that we have

some “trust issues” between the Frontier management team and the Republic management team.

Frankly I’m a little disturbed by this. During the bankruptcy process, we worked very closely with

Sean and Ted to define the combination synergies (also known as the elimination of redundant

overhead functions) we could expect to obtain were we the successful bidder for Frontier. It was

never a secret we intended to reduce duplicative administrative overhead functions and that

those functions would be consolidated in Indianapolis. And it should go without saying that the

final outcome of the integration program with Republic will be vastly superior for preservation of

Frontier jobs in Denver (and everywhere else for that matter) than the alternative Southwest was

offering.



While in Denver this week, I’ve heard some conversations along the line that “Frontier was

profitable before these guys bought us why does anything have to change?” Yes Frontier was

profitable in 2009 when the price of oil was under $60. At $80 oil, Frontier’s cost of fuel will be

$100 million higher, and despite what we might wish, the fares in Denver (and Milwaukee) are

just not going up. Whether you trust me or not, I can assure you we need all the synergies we

jointly defined before the merger and then some to offset the increased cost of fuel.



The good news is we are getting the synergies we identified and we do think there is more benefit

to be created as we complete the integration process. I am sincerely sorry for the burden our

consolidation of back office functions and heavy check maintenance is causing for our people in

the Denver corporate offices and on the maintenance heavy check line. We are doing our very

best to ease the transition burden but there is no way to offset the emotions people feel when

given a choice between moving to another city or finding another job in Denver. I do understand

that, but our employees out on the line still need to be supported and that means as long as you

work here I really need (and expect) you to give them your very best effort. We all have an

obligation to support our co-workers and our customers.



As for the vision, this has not changed. Two years ago we saw a future where there would be

legacy carrier consolidation and elimination of marginal hubs. This is still a work in progress, but

we’ve seen US Airways eliminate PIT and LAS as a hub. Delta and US Airways have a

transaction pending Department of Justice approval to swap LGA for DCA slots so they can

consolidate their presence in those markets. We see American Airlines close their hubs at STL

and RDU and reduce the scope of their BOS operations in order to build up their fortress hubs in

DFW, ORD, MIA, JFK and LAX. We hear a lot of chatter about a possible merger of United and

Continental and what would be the domestic ramifications of that merger? Finally, we are only

now starting to see Delta fine-tuning its network after the merger with Northwest: what will fall out

of that integration? My point being there will be opportunities to extend our wings if, at the end of

our own integration process, we have a highly reliable, cost efficient operating platform with a

good customer service value proposition to offer. I sincerely believe that we have a unique

opportunity to fuse the best product attributes of both Midwest and Frontier into a combined

carrier that is even more relevant to our customers' travel requirements than either brand was

independently before the merger. However, that all depends on how well we can all work

together to make it happen - including those who may choose not to stay with us long term but

who are on the team today.



As for the brand question, this opens a very thorny set of issues as both Midwest and Frontier

employees (and equally important their customers) are rightfully very invested in their respective

“hometown” brands. We want to respect those feelings and help coach both sides to a mutually

beneficial yet unified brand solution. I don't have all the answers today but we are doing the hard

work to get the information we need that will allow our employees and our customers to decide

the product attributes they want for the merged brand. Again a very delicate situation but we

have to address the issues, drive consensus and move forward. Technology is a major pacing

item in this process and we are depending on the east and west IT teams to work together for the

best common platform. Again there is a lot of emotion involved in making these selections, but

we need to focus on the long term opportunity and make the best decisions for the common good

of all our employees and ease of use for our customers.



What I hope is not lost in all this is our company is moving forward. New aircraft, new routes and

getting our furloughed flight crews back to work continue to build momentum. We had two very

successful service launches from OKC and OMA this morning, each with new twice weekly

service to MCO and TPA. These are the only non-stop Florida options in these communities and

this is another way to extend our brand and develop new opportunities with limited downside risk.

I’m not saying everything we try will be successful, but at least now we have the resources to

make the effort.



I’ll be on the road in Denver next week and I look forward to seeing you out in the field.

May God continue to bless you, our families and our airline.

Bryan

Originally Posted by azstar (Post 13209299)

The Frontier/Midwest employees who now seem to be complaining bitterly about the Republic operation have already forgot that the alternative was no job at all.

Originally Posted by GreatChecko (Post 13209336)

The so called "no job" alternative has nothing to do with trusting the new leadership.

Originally Posted by azstar (Post 13209351)

It has everything to do with it. Frontier was not the best run company prior to the bankruptcy either, so why are so many employees already complaining about the "direction" and management of the company when there is a high probability that the only direction they can go is up??

Read the blogs and the DOT monthly complaint statistics. Frontier has a ways to go to be the "best loved airline" (Your mission statement).

Originally Posted by GreatChecko (Post 13209336)

The so called "no job" alternative has nothing to do with trusting the new leadership. Sean Menke earned their trust. Now, it's up to Republic to do the same from both their new employees and their new customers.

The way I see it, the ball is in their (RAH) court.

Checko

Originally Posted by DenverBrian (Post 13192330)

So much for "Colorado's hometown airline."

Let's see...Denver, or Indianapolis to live, enjoy life and raise a family? Which one? Such a hard decision. :rolleyes:

Originally Posted by indyscott (Post 13214875)

Never lived in Denver so I have no basis for comparing the two, but I wouldn't trade football teams...