The Animals are Staying!!!!!
 

"

DENVER - Larry, Jack, Griz, Flip and their fellow animal friends escaped the chopping block on Tuesday. Republic Airways announced it is combining Midwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines under the Frontier brand.
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The announcement was made simultaneously in Denver and Milwaukee and brought an uproarious cheer in Denver.

Colorado's Gov. Bill Ritter and Denver's Mayor John Hickenlooper were both on hand for the announcement, which was made at Coors Field.

According to a company spokesman, Republic Airways did a vast study, which included more than 4,500 online surveys. They said they found Frontier had the greater brand potential moving forward.

The company also announced it would give its customers chocolate chip cookies on each flight, which was one of Midwest Airlines' signatures.

Republic CEO Bryan Bedford says the Frontier brand is associated with low fares, and the Midwest name is not. Midwest was based in Milwaukee, which has become a hot spot of airline competition with both Southwest Airlines and AirTran.

Republic bought Midwest and Frontier last year. Frontier is based in Denver and is bigger than Midwest Airlines.

Bedford says travelers may see the Midwest name on some jets until October 2011. The company is also merging the frequent-flier programs of the two airlines.
(KUSA-TV © 2010 Multimedia Holdings Corporation with The Associated Press)"

http://www.9news.com/news/article.as...6711&catid=339

Just got the 'official' email from Frontier. Curious though what this will mean to the hard product, e.g. stretch seating, tv, warm cookies etc. of both combined airlines. Here is the email I got :

A special announcement from Frontier Airlines

Thank you for your support of Frontier Airlines.

When Republic Airways acquired Midwest and Frontier last year, it was clear both airlines enjoyed great customer loyalty and employee cultures. We made it our goal to combine the best features of these two well-respected airline brands to offer an even better travel experience. More recently, we asked travelers like you to help us determine how to move forward to deliver the best flying experience for you. If you were one of the thousands of customers who shared your comments and suggestions, thank you.

Based on that feedback, we concluded that the new single brand for our growing airline will be Frontier. And we are committing a promise to you – our valued customers – and to ourselves that together as Frontier we will deliver a truly different and better flying experience by providing the best care in the air.

Be assured that the decision on the brand name was difficult, but one that was based on comprehensive independent research. The research showed that while customers expressed strong loyalty to both brands, Frontier – with a much larger customer base – was better poised to meet our customers’ needs for affordable fares and convenience.

Both airlines already share a passionate commitment to customer service and the delivery of an exceptional travel experience. Because of that common commitment, we now have the opportunity to combine these two cultures into one that is even better.

What does this mean to you?

The new Frontier will be bigger, stronger and priced right. Travelers will enjoy an expanded combined route network, enhanced schedules and better connectivity. With the addition of 15 new markets this spring and summer, we now serve 74 cities across the Americas – offering more opportunities to fly to the places you want to go.

Our integration timetable was specifically designed to minimize impact on customers. We expect to integrate our reservations systems by November of this year, and over the next 12-18 months we will implement a phased approach to rebranding our operations to reflect our new identity.

Learn more about today’s announcement

We’ve also established a new Web site, frontiermidwest.com, to share progress of our brand integration. We encourage you to visit frequently for additional information.

We will provide updates on our integration progress over the coming several months. In the meantime, I would welcome hearing from you regarding how we have, or have not, fulfilled our promise to you: to deliver a truly different and better flying experience by providing the best care in the air.

Thank you in advance for your patience during our integration. We truly appreciate your business.

God Bless,

Bryan Bedford
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Their time line and more information is online here :

http://www.frontiermidwest.com/weare1/timeline/

So if they are keeping the Frontier brand name, why create a website with both names in it?

Glad to see Frontier keep the name and the tails will stick around.

We created the website to contain news and information on the the transition to help the public, not to replace the current airline's websites.

^While I don't fly Frontier very often, I was excited to see the news! Congrats to Frontier employees and flyers!:)

I love the animals as well and I am glad to see they and the Frontier name are here to stay.

I have been planning (but haven't yet purchased) tickets for a trip DEN-BOS in mid-July. I thought I would give Frontier a chance to earn my business. I would like to use up some of the FF miles that I have with them. However, this will be a family trip, so I would need 3 seats. One free and two purchased.

I found out that Frontier no longer goes non-stop from DEN-BOS. I would have to route through MKE. Well, that is a bummer. Wife and child don't like to have to change planes, and I'm not real happy with the idea either. Plus, it slows you down so much. It already kills the entire day going from DEN to BOS. I really don't need to add a stop in MKE to make the day longer.

But, assume I could overcome the MKE thing. For the dates tested (July 21 outbound, July 31 return), Frontier is $292.80. The only type of service is Economy, I guess because it involves a Midwest flight from MKE to BOS. Classic and Classic Plus are not options, which means bag fees.

Southwest is $289.40 and that is a non-stop flight. Not a big difference in fares, but when you add the bag fees, it is a big difference. For three people, I think we are looking at 4-6 bags so that is $90 to $150 each way in bag fees. And, there is a $100 change fee per ticket. Yikes!

One-stop vs non-stop service, $180 to $300 in junk fees and change fees. Sorry DirecTV, which I'd have to pay for, just isn't worth that.

Is there any chance they are ever going to waive the bag fees and the change fees in cities where they compete heads up (and DEN-BOS they don't even really compete, since it is one stop plane change service)?

Why don't they have classic and classic plus fares for flights that involve Midwest aircraft? Aren't they one big happy family?

They should make a fourth type of fare, called "Classic Enhanced" and put it between Classic and Classic Plus. For this fare type you get two free bags and no change fees. Then on routes where they are competing with Southwest, they could make the Classic Enhanced price the same as the Southwest price and make Classic and Economy slightly cheaper. Then they would have a chance.

Glad to see the animals, but unfortunately, I can't see a way to justify the costs of flying with Frontier.

Does it strike anyone else as odd that the press release was signed with "God Bless"?

I noticed that-- Seems kind of strange to sign it that way..

Bedford is pretty open about this and states in business articles that he runs Republic based on a Christian Value system.

Here is a sample :

http://www.christiancouriernewspaper...ogbase/?p=1360

I am an atheist but I am used to god being used for plenty of things so I tend to just ignore it when I read it.

Wow, had no idea. Thanks for the overview. With this revelation, does that mean that Topeka, KS (FOE) will finally be getting air service?! :confused:


BACK on topic: Very happy that the critters are staying. I welcome freshly baked cookies with open arms (open mouth?)

I'm also happy about it. Even though I don't fly Frontier much, all my experiences have been positive and I look forward to more.

OT for this tidbit: In the 70s and early 80s, FOE had commercial air service - and IIRC, it was Frontier on Convair 580s!

Funny on the Topeka comment, though Bedford is actually a devout Roman Catholic. Maybe instead of the periodic board speculation (elsehwere) about possible future flights to London and Paris, it should be Rome?

Just kidding on that...no intent to bring up the religion in corporate America debate made elsewhere again and again about Bedford

As for Topeka, Frontier sent both 580's and 737's there for years, including for a time Topeka-Lincoln-O'Hare twice daily with a 737. Midway also went there FOE-MCI-MDW on the DC9 or D9S. Just one of those markets hard to serve these days becuase there's so much low fare nonstop service at nearby MCI.

Congrats to F9ers! Seeing your reaction at the news conference was great! People were cheering and hugging. We YXers used to feel that passionate about YX. I've never flown F9 but am trying it in 2 weeks. Not sure I will ever feel Frontier is Milwaukee's "Hometown Airline" (I think Denver alone gets that privilege!). Here in the midwest we are unfamiliar with your "spokesanimals" but the few ads I've seen are clever and well-done. Hope you enjoy our cookies. In Milwaukee there are a few grocery stores that sell them frozen and ready to bake. Best of luck, Frontier! R.I.P. Midwest!