On November 27, 1946 a lone 24-passenger DC-3 converted from its use as a C-47 by the Army Air Corps flew the markings of Monarch Airlines.....thus the making of what would become Frontier Airlines.
The original Frontier Airlines was born in June of 1950 after acquiring the operating certificates of 3 feeder organizations, Arizona Airways, Challenger and Monarch Airways. and then purchased Central Airlines in October of 1967. The original Frontier Airlines ceased operations in August of 1986 when it declared bankruptcy after being purchased by People Express. The original Frontier went from flying Convair 580 to Boeing 727, 737-200 (then called arrow jets) and MD-80 aircraft in just over the span of forty years.
Quite a large amount of history is spread out over the past fifty years from the original Frontier to the Frontier Airlines of today. The following is just a brief history of the two airlines which have served the Rocky Mountain region and beyond...
On June 1, 1950 the merger of Monarch Airlines, Challenger Airlines, and Arizona Airways led to the formation of Frontier Airlines.
One of the more interesting stories of Frontier Airlines takes place in 1957. A DC-3 enroute from Prescott, Arizona to Phoenix encounters the side of a mountain. After struggling with the controls in the clouds upon climbing out they realized around 12 feet of the left wing is no longer on the aircraft. Wobbling on to Phoenix the flight lands safely, and two minutes late, the airplane had been flown missing part of the wing for half of the flight. After being fixed, this aircraft continued to fly for Frontier until it crashed in 1967 on a freight run for Frontier killing both pilots. Nearly 50 years after this experience a team of people recovered the missing part of the wing in 2005.
As technology improves in aircraft, Frontier adds the Convair 580 aircraft to the fleet in 1964. These turoprops add a new range for Frontier, and soon all of the existing Convair 340 aircraft are upgraded to turboprops thus changing them to the 580 model.
Central Airlines was purchased by Frontier Airlines in 1967. Central Airlines has plans to purchase the DC-9, which was also looked at by Frontier, however due to the purchase by Frontier the DC-9 plans are dropped.
The end of the 60's brought jet aircraft to the Frontier fleet, with the initial jet flight taking place in 1966 with the Boeing 727-100. In 1968 five Boeing 727-200's arrive to Frontier, with the use of Boeing 737-200 aircraft the following year. As a result of this change, Frontier sells its last DC-3.
The Beechcraft 99 joined the fleet in March 1971, allowing the airline to service smaller airports.
In 1972, some excitement came to Frontier Airlines as flight FL91 was hijacked during its flight from Albuquerque to Phoenix. The flight ended up in Los Angeles where the hijacker later surrendered to the captain. Late in the year it is announced the Beechcraft 99 would be replaced by the de Havilland Twin Otter 300 series. The Twin Otter initially services Sidney, Alliance, and Chadron, Nebraska as well as Buffalo, Wyoming.
1978 brought a new look to Frontier with the rollout of a stylized "F" icon. This would be the logo which ends with the company in eight short years.
In 1982 the last Convair 580 flight took place from Omaha(OMA)-Lincoln(LNK)-Scottsbluff(LBF)-Buffalo(BFF)-Denver(DEN), ending 18 years of operation of the aircraft by Frontier.
After enjoying many years of success, Frontier found themselves in between two giants in the early 80's. United started to expand in Denver and Continental reinvented itself as a lower cost carrier. This left Frontier in a place where they needed to match fares, but still had a higher cost basis. After 10 years of profits in 1982 Frontier reported their first loss. In 1983 Frontier announces its plan to operate a non-union sister airline, Frontier Horizon, to lower their costs however this meets union objection due to the threat of their jobs in the future. Frontier Horizon started operations in 1984 with a limit on their fleet size and growth, part of the cost concessions provided by the pilots union. By the end of the year Frontier Horizon is sold. During the Fall of 1984 Frontier also cut operations to 20 unprofitable or marginal cities. Also around this time, it is reported that Frontier turned down an offer to purchase the company. This investor notes that without cost reductions the airline will be liquidated.
Towards the end of Frontier Airlines, times were quite difficult. Record losses were reported in 1984, and in 1985 Frontier sold five of their MD-80 aircraft to United Airlines, and then leased back the aircraft. A few months later Frontier sold twenty-five of their Boeing 737's to United Airlines and leased back these aircraft as well. This provided a cash infusion of over $350 million. During this time, discussions of a buyout by the union and an investment group took place, which led to an agreement which almost allowed the union to buy the airline as part of a new ESOP agreement in place for concessions. This was interrupted when Texas Air Corporation, announced they would purchase the airline for $20/share. The union did not want this to occur, and worked to have People Express to purchase the airline for $24/share.
The end is near While the transition to People Express was taking place in the summer of 2006 an announcement they are experience heavy losses and is considering the sale of all or part of the company. The following day, United announced they would be interested in buying Frontier. Of the new few weeks, Texas Air offers $235 million to purchase all of People Express, including Frontier which is rejected two days later with the announcement of the sale of Frontier to United for $146 million. This sale is contigent on successful contract negotiations with the unions, including the United's pilots. After nearly a month of negotiations there is no progress and the merger is essentially called off. Frontier is running out of opportunities and on August 24, 1986 operations are terminated. They filed for bankruptcy on August 28, 1986 ending the history of the original Frontier Airlines.
The rebirth of the Frontier Airlines took flight on July 5, 1994 with service from Denver to Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks and Minot, North Dakota. While the name was the same as the original Frontier the executives who gave Frontier a new start comprised of individuals from the original airline as well as newcomers to the industry. The opening in the Denver market was primarily from the reduction in service to Denver by Continental Airlines, which was the airline who purchased the assets of the original Frontier in 1986. By the end of 1994, Frontier operates five Boeing 737-200 aircraft with service to 11 cities from Denver
In the next year, Frontier adjusts its flight schedule by adding service to new cities and ceasing service to lesser traveled routes including two of the original cities, Minot and Grand Forks. By the end of 1996 all service to the original four cities has been removed from the Frontier schedule. As the demand increases so does the need for additional aircraft as Frontier begins to add the Boeing 737-300 to the fleet. By the end of 1996 Frontier is serving four cities on the West Coast, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Chicago as well as many other cities still part of the Frontier Airlines route map today.
The year of 1997 was a year of ups and downs for Frontier. It started off by qualifying as a National carrier with revenue in excess of $100 Million USD. However an attempted merger of Frontier fails resulting in the bankruptcy of Western Pacific and ceasing of operations in early 1998. By the end of 1998 Frontier operates 17 Boeing 737 aircraft. In addition, here are now two main competing airlines at Denver International Airport; Frontier Airlines and United Airlines.
Frontier ends the 1990's in style, signing an agreement with Airbus for the purchase of Airbus 318 and 319 aircraft. This marks the first step in fleet modernization by Frontier, with these initial 20 aircraft. Less than a month later Frontier signs a Letter of Intent to lease 15 additional aircraft. As the dawn of a new era begins, Frontier operates 20 Boeing 737 aircraft and serves 20 markets from Denver. Showing 20/20 vision for the 20th century.
In the year 2000, service once again expands with the addition of Kansas City and Washington National as well as the fleet to 25 Boeing 737 aircraft. With the second consecutive profitable year, new aircraft on the horizon the sky is the limited for Frontier. The following year is one of transition for Frontier, as the new livery is unveiled for the Airbus aircraft with the first delivery of an Airbus 319 (N901FR) in early June. A new codeshare agreement with Great Lakes is started in July of 2001 offering service to 35 additional markets. The end of the year starts a rocky road not only for Frontier but all airlines in the United States. After a nationwide three-day ground stop Frontier resumes operations however the demand is not there resulting in capacity cuts of 20 percent this so happens to be at the same time previously announced service to Reno and Austin begins. By the end of the year with a fleet of 25 Boeing 737 and 4 Airbus 319 Frontier begins the road to recovery.
With the uncertain times in aviation, Frontier presses forward in 2002 with 92 percent of the pre-September 11th capacity in their schedule by mid-January, and in less than two months exceeded the pre-September 11th capacity levels. Another codeshare is formed with Mesa Airlines, providing Regional Jet service with the new Frontier JetExpress unit. Additionally, eight new cities are added in the first six months of the year. As the year moves on Frontier signs an agreement with LiveTV, bringing DIRECTV to the fleet in addition to signing on with Sticky Grey from New York to help with advertising. The animals quickly start speech lessons while on the road. 2002 ended with expansion south of the border to Cancun and Mazatlan. With 22 Boeing 737 aircraft, 15 Airbus 319 serving 39 cities across the United States and Mexico, this is no longer the "Spirit of the West".
The year 2003 continues the growth of Frontier with the addition of new cities, additional frequencies to existing cities and the delivery of the Airbus 318, making Frontier Airlines the launch customer of this aircraft. Frontier is now "A Whole Different Animal" from the airline of even a few years ago. With a clever marketing plan, talking animals with humor, the Frontier Airlines name is becoming well known in the Denver area. Prior to the end of the year, Frontier is granted US Flag Carrier status allowing them to fly between two international destinations, beyond the previous limit of two hours past the border as well as Alaska and Hawaii. With service to four cities in Mexico and 41 US Cities, you never know where 12 Boeing 737, 23 Airbus 319 and 4 Airbus 318 aircraft may lead to next.
Change is not always the best way to start off the year, however for Frontier it was a good thing. The start of 2004 brought a noticeable change to the Frontier JetExpress operation as Horizon Airlines took over for Mesa Airlines. This change also meant the larger CRJ-700 aircraft would service these routes providing additional capacity and comfort for passengers. As change is taking place, Frontier also decides to start point-to-point service from Los Angeles to Kansas City, St. Louis and Minneapolis. However this service would eventually be dropped over the course of the next year, due to poor margins. While these routes may have not worked, July 5th, 2004 marked the 10th anniversary of Frontier Airlines which now has served nearly 25 million customers over 10 years. By the end of the year the fleet is 6 Boeing 737, 35 Airbus 319 and 6 Airbus 318 aircraft.
Growth and modernization took center stage in 2005. On April 14, 2005 the transition to an all Airbus fleet is complete. This modernization gives Frontier the youngest fleet in Denver, and DirectTV on all of the aircraft. Savings are also realized in maintenance and pilot training. Now that the fleet transition complete the growth continues with service added in Texas, Ohio, California and Mexico. With focus available elsewhere Frontier also claims the top rank of Arrival Performance in September, and subsequent top 3 performances in October and November. This is done with the first six months of becoming large enough to reports data to the Department of Transportation. By the end of the year 42 Airbus 319 and 7 Airbus 318 aircraft were serving close to fifty destinations in the United States and 7 in Mexico.