Frontier Airlines
 

I found a cheap one way tkt through frontier airlines for the July 4th weekend and bought them too.. does anyone have any idea where I can find info whether they will shut down the flights before the july 4th since they have applied for bankruptcy?. Just dont want to scramble at the last minute.

Welcome to Flyertalk pistu, :)

We have a specific forum for Frontier Airlines on FlyerTalk. I am going to move this thread to that forum. Thanks for your understanding.

Jouy31
TravelBuzz moderator

Relax. It is extremely unlikely that Frontier will stop flying before the 4th of July. They have cash in the bank and are coming into the busy summer travel season. Their bankruptcy filing was primarily a strategic response to their credit card processor's attempts to significantly increase the retainage on credit card sales, which would have drasticly reduced their cash flow. I am quite certain you will have nothing to worry about.

Spotted June 10, 2008, two Frontier planes at PIT, verified they were the two that were sold...animals still on the tail with all Frontier markings.

If nothing and I mean, nothing changes (which already isn't true), at a burn rate of $1 million a day, the airline has enough cash to last through early September.

My thought is that the losses aren't at that level and Frontier may have a couple more months beyond that before cash levels become critical.

Planespotters want to know...which two A318s were they?

Guess I won't get in that club! [s].

Don't know.

From PIT, June 10, 2008, onboard delayed UA 665 gate 51 taxied by and around the USair concourse to the left, to ground hold 14 min for Runway 28R. On the end of said concourse both Frontier planes were parked next to one another....feeding I suppose [s], have to keep the animals happy when away. Spoke with Frontier CS employee in DEN who verified the sale, but not to which airline, or financial group.

According to WikiPedia, they are N801FR "Grizwald" and N8014FR "Mo and Jo". "Lucy" the goose and "Doc" the owl are 319's that they also sold. They went to an aircraft leasing company I believe, there is info on that online.

It will be interesting to see if they re-sticker another aircraft as "Grizz", as he's one of the major "spokes-animals" that they use... also my personal favorite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_Airlines

this news broke a few months ago...


March 2008
Frontier Airlines entered into an agreement to sell four jets from its fleet to a Russian leasing company that eventually will lease the planes to Rossiya Airlines, which is owned by the Russian government.
A letter of agreement made public by Frontier Thursday will convey the four jets -- two Airbus A318s and two Airbus A319s -- to VTB Leasing, a Russian leasing company. Eventually the aircraft will be used in the Rossiya fleet, which operates flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg, and also provides official travel for the Russian government.
Sean Menke, Frontier president and CEO, said the sales are part of an earlier announced plan to add larger-capacity Airbus A320s to the Frontier fleet.

Was just in PIT and saw approximately 8 Frontier planes parked at the end of Terminal B. This section is currently walled off so I couldn't walk around and get an exact count.

Is PIT the new used car lot for airplanes?

Those are the old Republic Airlines ERJ-170's that are left over after Frontier released them from the contract.

I'm wondering the same thing as the OP. Contemplating booking a Frontier flight in mid-September, the only convenient way for me to get from DEN-PHL at the time I need to go. I've never flown this airline before and know nothing about it (except the fact that it is in bankruptcy!) Any advice?

1) Book with a credit card to protect yourself.

2) I heard there was a large infusion of cash in Frontier by a private firm so they should probably last at least a few months longer. I would risk it.

I believe the consensus on this board is that Frontier is not going away that soon. Of course book with a credit card for the best protection.

The short story, an immediate cash drain reared its head and Frontier filed for bankruptcy protection to keep from being broke in a month (smart move). They then started cutting some flights and selling a few more planes than planned ^. I believe they also asked for 10% pay cuts from employees (20% from execs). Then a group was impressed with Frontier enough to offer financing to get them out of bankruptcy and also to buy a majority share of the company. Just today it was announced that another group offered the same amount of financing with better terms (no mention of shares) that will free up more cash than the original offer :). So it looks like Frontier is bouncing back.

Thanks, Duckouttahere and JaggedMind. This is a work trip, so I'll have the travel agent book it--then he'll be on the hook to find me a new flight if things go squirly.

Of course, what is scaring me worse than a potential flight cancellation is the realization that Frontier has no first class :cool:

When I moved here and was trying to decide between F9 and US, someone told me every seat on F9 is 1st Class!!

Not quite but the service generally exceeds coach on UA or US so I tend to think of it more like every seat on F9 is Eurobusiness :)

If you're a regular on F9, the freebies (free drinks, free DirectTV, and free changes) make it almost like F.

Is it like Midwest, from a seat perspective? (Although from the reading I've done on this board, it doesn't seem like I'm going to get handed a fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie on my flight...)

The seats aren't like Midwest's 2x2 configuration. In my opinion, they are generally more comfortable and roomier than most other economy seats. Recently they put in leather seats that are slightly thinner, allowing them to add two extra seats without affecting pitch much. If you are interested in info about particular seats, I'd recommend row 1 for a bulkhead, and exit row seats 11a and 11f on a reconfigured 319, anything in row 9 on a 318, or row ten on a non-reconfigured 319 (not sure how many of these are left).

As for the snacks, the food for purchase is very good and reasonably priced. I'd especially recommend the fruit cup, the sweet and salty nut mix, or the trail mix ($3). Haven't tried the sandwiches and salads ($7) yet but they come out of a reputable bakery in Denver (Udi's) and they looked pretty good. All purchases on the plane are credit card only.

Thanks for the excellent info. I'll be booking the flight this week--will come back here to check on my seat assignment!

Be sure to pick your seat when purchasing. There is no way (except calling?) to change your seat till the 24-hour mark.

The travel agent's going to be doing the purchasing, unfortunately (I definitely want him in the transaction in case of any flight cancellation problems--this is more important to me than what row I'm in). He'll get me an aisle, but I don't think I can specify a row without sounding, er, micromanagerial.

You'll probably end up in a row toward the back of the plane. The aisle seats from row 11 forward are reserved for Ascent/Summit members. However, if you check in on-line you may be able to grab one. Also if at all possible check in early at the airport for the best chance of changing you seat.

Have just booked and I am in seat 22D. I'll live. Or I'll do online check-in. Considering that I just did PHL-SCL-ANC-SCL-PHL (four flights of 4+ hours each) in seat 30D on DL, this should be a breeze. I'm doing the outbound on UA in F.

And yes, I did sign up for EarlyRewards, although I don't expect to ever be able use those miles for anything! DEN is not a typical destination for me.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8310/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

If you ever travel Airtran, you might be able to earn credit with them instead. Safe travels.