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Effective June 1st, Frontier will discontinue MKE-OMA/IND/CMH/BNA/PIT flying. The ERJs flying for Frontier will be parked.

MKE/MCI-LGA service is also being eliminated due to a "slot transaction."

With these cutbacks, Frontier will operate seven flights per day at MKE.

This is almost comical, especially as it relates to PIT. The route was pulled in January, only to be restored one month later. Now its end date is being announced even before the route resumes.

My guess is DCA and MCO will soon be on the chopping block as well.
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Pulling markets 31 days out is pretty laughable and/or sad, depending on how you look at it. There are undoubtedly many thousands of people booked on these flights heading into the summer season. The RJ flying is one thing because that business travel tends to book more close in. But the LGA flying is especially pathetic.

Obviously the cuts themselves are painful, but it stuns the heck out of me that on April 30 they cut as of June 1. What new came about now that they didn't know back in February or March? And the peak summer time, from early June until early August, is the time to make money. This sort of action does not encourage condifence in the decision making process. And I would feel just as strongly about that if they were to kill DEN-AUS/SBA/ICT/GEG today as of June 1 as well.

The two-week stay they have for Pittsburgh is a real hoot. And it goes to prove how difficult it can be to figure out what will actually happen based on their actions. If they had any inkling that the RJ's would be parked this summer, it would make no sense to spend the $ to bring PIT back on line. With all the additions in Orlando on tap, the seemingly-logical conclusion here may be that Orlando will be shut down entirely in July.
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Boy Concourse D is going to be pretty empty soon...
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Quote: And I would feel just as strongly about that if they were to kill DEN-AUS/SBA/ICT/GEG today as of June 1 as well.
Don't kill AUS after they just killed SAT Knope.
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Quote: Don't kill AUS after they just killed SAT Knope.
LOL! Only hypothentical....
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Well as someone who had 90% to 95% of his Midwest/Frontier business on the MCI-LGA route, this pretty much ends my relationship with Frontier. And that comes from a Summit member. As soon as I use up my flight credit for IROPs and my frequent flyer miles, I'm most likely done with this airline.

ExitRowAisle
A Dissatisfied 2nd Class Starwood Platinum Member
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Quote: With all the additions in Orlando on tap, the seemingly-logical conclusion here may be that Orlando will be shut down entirely in July.
Someone (I believe BB) made reference to COS and MCO being "focus cities," during last week's earnings call. I guess that makes MCI and MKE "out of focus," though it's been fairly easy, lately, to see what's been happening.

Frontier press release, as posted by n917e on airliners.net:

Quote:
Today Frontier announced changes to its summer schedule that will include the discontinuation of all ERJ flying, with the exception of MKE-RHI, effective June 1. As a result, Milwaukee nonstop service to Columbus, Indianapolis, Nashville, Omaha and Pittsburgh will be suspended effective June 1.

High fuel prices continue to negatively impact the profitability of Frontier's ERJ flying; in order to reduce the loss-making flying, the decision has been made to discontinue Frontier ERJ flying and reallocate those aircraft and crews to other Republic partners.

Additionally, as a result of a slot transaction, nonstop service from New York La Guardia to both Kansas City and Milwaukee will be suspended effective June 1. The E190 aircraft used on those routes will be deployed to cover other Frontier flying.

As a result of these changes, daily departures out of Milwaukee will be reduced from 18 to seven. Details have been provided to employees in the affected stations and the Company will work to move as many people into open positions throughout the Company as possible.

As we approach our most profitable months of flying, it is imperative that we make the best use of our fleet in order to further strengthen our financial performance and ensure a successful future for the airline and our employees, said David Siegel, President and CEO. We regret that these changes will result in the furloughs of some of our team members in Milwaukee and our human resources team will do everything possible to make their transition as smooth as possible.
It's an interesting reference about redeploying the E190s, as I thought I heard that two E190s would be parked in the upcoming months.
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Quote: Someone (I believe BB) made reference to COS and MCO being "focus cities," during last week's earnings call.
MCO I understand, but COS makes no sense to me. Especially when you consider the typical load factors between DEN & COS.
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Quote: MCO I understand, but COS makes no sense to me. Especially when you consider the typical load factors between DEN & COS.
It isn't about serving traffic from COS-DEN. It's about trying to tap into the name recognition and FF base they have in COS that might currently drive to DEN.

Back to MKE, I guess this was inevitable with fuel continuing to go up. I'd expect MCO to stay but be served from the MCO side. Who knows about DCA, unless they decide to make DCA a "focus city" as well. Any loyalty they had remaining in MKE is sure to be gone after this.
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Quote: Pulling markets 31 days out is pretty laughable and/or sad, depending on how you look at it. There are undoubtedly many thousands of people booked on these flights heading into the summer season. The RJ flying is one thing because that business travel tends to book more close in. But the LGA flying is especially pathetic.
Yeah that is very short notice! I went through several days in June on OMA-MKE and many many flights show seat maps exceed 20-30 seats taken! This is a ton of passengers to throw under the bus. If they were to cancel the markets July 6th vs June 1st, that would make sense. I've lost respect for F9 with this short notice decision.
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Quote: Yeah that is very short notice! I went through several days in June on OMA-MKE and many many flights show seat maps exceed 20-30 seats taken! This is a ton of passengers to throw under the bus. If they were to cancel the markets July 6th vs June 1st, that would make sense. I've lost respect for F9 with this short notice decision.
Hopefully, F9 will immediately notify those customers, now that the cat is out of the bag, and try to accommodate them, even on other carriers, if need be. In the past, their customer notification of cancelled routes has not been the most immediate. The longer they wait, the more painful it's going to be. I really feel for the CSRs who will field the phone calls.

The airfares on other carriers for peak travel times are not going to be pretty, especially when compared to flights booked awhile ago.
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Quote: Hopefully, F9 will immediately notify those customers, now that the cat is out of the bag, and try to accommodate them, even on other carriers, if need be. In the past, their customer notification of cancelled routes has not been the most immediate. The longer they wait, the more painful it's going to be. I really feel for the CSRs who will field the phone calls.

The airfares on other carriers for peak travel times are not going to be pretty, especially when compared to flights booked awhile ago.
Based on the wording on the PR, I'd say they really don't care. Considering that in essence they have pulled out of the Milwaukee market (4 of the 7 remaining flights are to the DEN hub), the repercussions across the network will be negligible.

Cold? Yes.

Thoughtful? No. Business is business. It will be interesting to see how and if they live up to their "We're Accommodating" claim on their website, "Our reputation as one of the most accommodating and friendly airlines in the U.S. begins with our people."

Like you, I feel for those poor CSRs who will be forced to field those calls. It certainly isn't going to be Bedford or Siegel.
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Those of us who were YX veterans remember the summer of 2008 ax which parked the M80's and several CRJ's, resulting in many lost city pairs. That was out on July 18th and was effective with September 8th...about a 50 day window. We thought that was small at the time, but at least it was after the summer season ended. A 31 day window heading into summer is bad.

I hope they are willing and able to rebook people. Issuing a refund will not be nearly as helpful becuase they will be at the mercy of whatever fares are available now.

Although further changes are certainly possible. MCI (at the moment) appears to have 23 flights per week other than Denver....14x/week to DCA, 4x/week to LAS, 4x/week to MSY, and 1x/week to MCO. We'll see if those non-hub MCI flights survive the current round or not.
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Quote: Like you, I feel for those poor CSRs who will be forced to field those calls. It certainly isn't going to be Bedford or Siegel.
Nor Daniel Shurz (@wandererurban), VP of Strategy and Planning, who is always anxious, via twitter, to resolve people's little issues with Frontier. How is he going to fix the upcoming problems with which he is closely associated?

I can't wait to see the same F9 canned verbage appear on social media, to the effect:

Quote:
A detailed analysis of all Frontier flights has proven that we have been sustaining significant losses on many of our MCI (MKE) flights. Kansas City (Milwaukee) will remain a focus city for us.
Well, maybe the last part of the message will now be changed...

WTMJ Radio in Milwaukee commented that a WTMJ TV producer called F9 to check on a MKE-OMA flight already booked for June. The airline confirmed its discontinuation and offered a full refund. The flights that are ending June 1 are still available for purchase on the website. Their only resolution was a full refund; alternative routing not available. When the CSR was asked why discontinued routes were still available online for booking flights after the date of discontinuation, the CSR replied that he/she was not aware of that, along with a thank you, for letting him/her know.

More job cuts at MKE, as well. From JSOnline:

Quote:
Frontier Airlines will cut 11 flights out of Milwaukee and furlough about 125 employees, effective June 1, a spokeswoman for the airline confirmed Monday.

The move will bring to about 36 the number of employees the airline will have at Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport, said Lindsey Carpenter, a Frontier spokeswoman.
Press release from Milwaukee County Exec Chris Abele:

Quote:
While we’re disappointed Frontier Airlines is reducing flights in Milwaukee, we are please they will still offer service at Milwaukee County’s General Mitchell International Airport (MKE).
Huh?
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http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/149554685.html
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