Let's add Jetblue to the mix.

After Sean Menke left, BB was left with little depth in running a full-fledged airline.

I'm not sure that JetBlue would want to take a large risk by acquiring or merging with F9, but a full codeshare agreement would surely be beneficial to both carriers. It would get F9 passengers more access on the coasts and carribean and JetBlue passengers access to the interior of the country.

Perhaps if he had treated Frontier as he did Midwest... replacing everything with Republic metal and crews? They've upgraded a lot of Frontier Airbus metal at a very significant cost and still have much of the cost of the old structure.

Or to backup a few years maybe not even entertain the F9/YX deal and hope Republic can buy more larger aircraft to operate for other carriers since few were buying new aircraft for the shorter routes.

One thing is for certain at some point he decided he was "all in" if you're a poker player.

Hindsight is always 20/20. But the fat lady might be warming up. The FAPA agreement doesn't cover all they seem to be losing and the lowest travel highest loss Sep-Oct months fall well before most of the gains will be appreciated.

Without looking at any numbers, does anyone think DEN can really support 3 hubs? I imagine JetBlue and Virgin want to stay out of DEN, as UA and WN pretty much dominate the place. I'm afraid F9 is headed towards liquidation.

Hope something viable comes along for the employees...

They've added more planes but the majority of the Airbus fleet (leases) were already part of F9. It would have costed significantly more to replace them with anything else.

The reason they purchased Midwest and Frontier was to take control over their own future. 10 years from now they may not have any CPA contracts left which would leave them with nothing. Trying their own airline was an opportunity for them to control their future and not be left to the whims of the majors.

On the other hand, they are definitely not "all in" at this point. F9 is only one part of their business and currently the CPA side is very successful. If they decide that F9 is no longer viable they can let F9 file bankruptcy but that does not mean RJET files for bankruptcy. They are 2 different entities.

[QUOTE=MikeFromMKE;16556271On the other hand, they are definitely not "all in" at this point. F9 is only one part of their business and currently the CPA side is very successful. If they decide that F9 is no longer viable they can let F9 file bankruptcy but that does not mean RJET files for bankruptcy. They are 2 different entities.[/QUOTE]

So they could decide F9 jetsam and still carry on?

I thought it was RJET unrestricted cash that was the problem I didn't realize they could throw F9 under the bus and exit so easily.

If they do that they also pass a lot of debt to F9 and RJET survives. Very interesting.

I don't think its necessarily an easy process, but they are separate legal entities, and RJET is just the umbrella corporation that owns the company called Frontier. Frontier could file for bankruptcy independently of the parent company, but it isn't like that wouldn't have an effect on RJET stock. RJET would be able to survive without going under.

Courtesy of Denver Post:

http://bit.ly/lSWMUj

From AP:

That would be reminiscent of the short-lived arrangement PeopleExpress had with the old Frontier circa 1985-86. DEN and EWR hubs, individual brands intact, total logistical / organizational disaster.

I am for a standard codeshare agreement, nothing more. I don't see how that would have a negative effect on either carrier, especially since they don't share any routes.

And what a mess that was. People was essentially today's Spirit; Frontier was still holding on to its full-service model. You could buy tickets on either carrier and crossover to the others route system by flying EWR-DEN. Once People decided to force its fee-for-all system and rock-bottom fares on Frontier, it was done in 6 months.

I'd think it would be hard to sell any code share when F9 is at 95% holdback on credit cards. (it was at 100% until they found a processor that agreed to 95%)

i hadn't thought of that -- that's very true. It's hard to come back from F9's financial-red-zone status... it becomes a self-fullfilling prophecy.