Frontier to add planes, cities

'Express' turboprop routes will be within 650 miles of Denver

Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, September 7, 2006

Frontier Airlines will begin flying next summer to as many as 18 cities in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region, a move that could give it a leg up in its bid to compete with discounter Southwest Airlines.

The Denver carrier will launch the Frontier Express service in July after investing in a new fleet of advanced turboprop planes that use less fuel than jets but can match their speed on shorter routes.

"It's a logical next step for us," Frontier CEO Jeff Potter said Wednesday. "We found a need to expand the regional jet flying that we're currently doing."

The company expects to hire as many as 400 people for Frontier Express.

Frontier officials declined to say which markets the Bombardier Q400 planes might serve, but they said all of the new routes will be within a 650-mile radius of Denver.

As it stands now, some of the closest cities to Denver that Frontier serves are Albuquerque, Salt Lake City and Billings.

It flies to 57 North American cities in all.

The new subsidiary will allow Frontier to offer flights from Denver to other parts of Colorado, including mountain resorts such as Aspen and popular tourist destinations such as Durango.

Southwest flies relatively large 737 jets, a factor in its ability to keep its maintenance costs low. But that strategy means the Dallas-based carrier doesn't offer short flights from Denver to other Colorado cities. It launched service to and from Denver International Airport in January.

"From a competitive point of view, it lets them leapfrog Southwest, and that's important," said Michael Boyd, an Evergreen-based aviation consultant. "Southwest can't go to Durango, can't go to Jackson Hole, can't go to Aspen."

Boyd said the extra flights also will boost business for Frontier's longer routes because travelers will use the new service to connect to flights at Denver International Airport.

"It gives them (Frontier) a huge revenue advantage," Boyd said.

Frontier's Potter said Bombardier's new turboprop planes will offer passengers a "much different experience" than the noisy, older turboprops with low ceilings .

The 6-foot, 2-inch CEO said he can stand up in the planes, which are outfitted with technology to curb the vibrations normally associated with turboprops.

In making the announcement, Frontier also said it is looking for a partner to operate up to 20 regional jet aircraft to either augment or replace its existing Frontier JetExpress fleet operated by Horizon Air.

kelleyj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5068