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The story
1990s
Frontier Airlines was created by Frederick W. "Rick" Brown (a United Airlines pilot), his wife Janice Brown, and Bob Schulman, the latter two having worked at the original Frontier Airlines that operated between 1950 and 1986. In 1993, Continental Airlines was scaling back flights from Denver's Stapleton International Airport (which was closed and replaced with Denver International Airport in 1995), and the three proposed a charter airline named AeroDenver Travel Services to fill demand on international routes, potentially in partnership with Condor Airlines. To run the company, they brought in M. C. "Hank" Lund (ex-CEO of the original Frontier Airlines) as CEO and Sam Addoms as executive vice-president and treasurer (later CEO).
As Continental's Denver drawback expanded in scope in late 1993, the proposed airline pivoted to fill regional routes, and adopted the Frontier Airlines name. The company was incorporated in February and went public in May 1994. Scheduled flights began on July 5, 1994, using Boeing 737-200 jetliners between Denver and four cities in North Dakota. Around three-quarters of its 180 employees, and many executives, had worked for the original Frontier Airlines. By January 1995, Frontier had expanded its route network from Denver and was serving destinations in New Mexico, Montana, North Dakota, Texas, Nevada, Nebraska, and Arizona. Like the original airline of the same name, the new Frontier operated a hub at Denver (DEN) and for the first nine years used the slogan "The Spirit of the West" which was displayed above the windows and just behind the cursive letters "Frontier" on the fuselage of their aircraft.
In 1999, Frontier signed agreements to begin purchasing and leasing Airbus A318 and A319 jet aircraft and had also added Boeing 737-300 jetliners to its fleet as well. Also by September 1999, the airline was serving destinations from coast to coast in the U.S., having expanded its route network to include Atlanta (ATL); Baltimore (BWI); Bloomington/Normal, Illinois (BMI); Boston (BOS); Chicago (MDW, Midway Airport); Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW); Phoenix (PHX); Los Angeles (LAX); Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP); New York City (LGA, LaGuardia Airport); Orlando (MCO); Portland, Oregon (PDX); Salt Lake City (SLC); San Diego (SAN); San Francisco (SFO); and Seattle (SEA), all served from its Denver hub.
2000s
Frontier took delivery of its first Airbus aircraft (an A319) in 2001 and simultaneously launched with it DirecTV in-flight television along with a new company livery. Frontier Airlines was the launch customer of the Airbus A318 in 2003. In mid-April 2005, Frontier officially became an all-Airbus fleet, retiring its last Boeing 737. Jeff Potter was appointed CEO in 2002. Sean Menke, formerly Senior Marketing VP with Air Canada, succeeded Potter as CEO of Frontier Airlines in 2007, and guided the company through bankruptcy reorganization.
As part of its plan to stay competitive in reaction to the entry of Southwest Airlines into Denver, the company underwent a reorganization early in 2006. On April 3, 2006, Frontier created Frontier Airlines Holdings (FRNT), a holding company incorporated in Delaware to take advantage of favorable tax laws in that state. The corporate headquarters did not leave Colorado. In 2007, Frontier established a commuter airline subsidiary, Lynx Aviation, Inc., chaired by Dr. Paul Stephen Dempsey. Dr. Dempsey was Vice-Chairman of Frontier Airlines for 15 years. He left the University of Denver in 2002 to become Tomlinson Professor of Law, and Director of the Institute of Air & Space Law at McGill University.
On January 24, 2007, Frontier was designated as a major carrier by the United States Department of Transportation.
On January 11, 2007, Frontier Airlines signed an 11-year service agreement with Republic Airways. Under the agreement, Republic was to operate 17 76-seat Embraer 170 aircraft for the former Frontier JetExpress operations. At the time the contract was canceled in April 2008, Republic Airways operated 11 aircraft for Frontier Airlines, with the remaining six aircraft expected to join the fleet by December 2008. With the integration of Republic aircraft, the 'JetExpress' denotation was removed. Subsequent to the cessation of Horizon's services for Frontier in December 2007, all flights operated by Republic were sold and marketed as "Frontier Airlines, operated by Republic Airways." The first market created specifically for the Embraer 170 was Louisville, Kentucky, which began on April 1, 2007. Service to Louisville was suspended in August 2008 but restarted in April 2010.
Flights operated by Republic Airlines offered in-flight snack and beverage services similar to Frontier's mainline flights. Unlike Frontier's aircraft and due to the nature of contracting with regional carriers, these Embraer 170 aircraft were not fitted with LiveTV.
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On April 10, 2008, Frontier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in reaction to the intent of its credit card processor, First Data, to withhold significant proceeds from ticket sales. First Data decided that it would withhold 100% of the carrier's proceeds from ticket sales beginning May 1. According to Frontier's press release, "This change in practice would have represented a material change to our cash forecasts and business plan. Unchecked, it would have put severe restraints on Frontier's liquidity..." Its operation continued uninterrupted, though, as Chapter 11 bankruptcy protected the corporation's assets and allowed restructuring to ensure long-term viability. After months of losses, Frontier Airlines reported that they made their first profit during the month of November 2008, reporting US$2.9 million in net income for the month.
On June 22, 2009, Frontier Airlines announced that, pending bankruptcy court approval, Republic Airways Holdings, the Indianapolis-based parent company of Republic Airways, would acquire all assets of Frontier for the amount of $108 million. Thus, Frontier Airlines would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic. However, five weeks later on July 30, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines announced that it would be making a competing bid of $113.6 million for Frontier with intentions to also operate Frontier as a wholly owned subsidiary, but that it would gradually fold Frontier resources into current Southwest operating assets.
During a bankruptcy auction on August 13, 2009, Republic Airways Holdings acquired Frontier Airlines and its regional airline, Lynx Aviation, as wholly owned subsidiaries. On October 1, Republic completed the transaction, and Frontier officially exited bankruptcy as a new airline.
In late 2009, Republic began to consolidate administrative positions and moved 140 jobs from the Frontier Airlines Denver headquarters to Indianapolis. Shortly after in January 2010, Republic Airways announced that it would move all of its executives to Indianapolis. Later in February, the Denver Business Journal stated that the headquarters would be moved "soon". Despite this, according to the Denver Business Journal, Frontier Airlines will still maintain a local headquarters in Denver to house Training, Marketing, Customer Reservations, and Scheduling & Planning teams after extending its lease on the building through 2020.
In 2010, Frontier's then-CEO Bryan Bedford took part in the reality TV show Undercover Boss.
As Republic Airways Holdings was in the process of bidding to acquire Frontier in 2009, it was also in the process of acquiring Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines. Through the fall and winter of 2009, Republic operated its two new acquisitions as separate brands. However, to improve efficiency by better matching aircraft capacity to route demand, Republic began to intermix the fleets of the two airlines, swapping a portion of its higher-capacity planes from Frontier with its smaller-capacity planes from Midwest and vice versa. However, the move caused some confusion amongst the public, as the two brands did not offer the same amenities and did not match the amenities mentioned on the airfare. As a result, in the spring of 2010, Frontier and Midwest Airlines announced that their brands would merge, with Frontier being the surviving brand. This was a merger of brands only—no Midwest Airlines aircraft was ever operated by Frontier, as by this time, all Midwest Airlines flights were operated on its behalf by other Republic Airways Holdings subsidiaries.
On April 13, 2011, Frontier formed a new subsidiary, Frontier Express, that was planned to operate the airline's smaller aircraft with different services than those available on full-size aircraft.
2010s
Upon the full merger and integration of Frontier and Midwest Airlines in October 2010, Frontier and its regional partners operated over 100 daily flights from the Milwaukee hub. However, on September 9, 2011, Frontier notified the public of a 40% reduction of arriving and departing flights from MKE. Along with this reduction of flights, the company laid off approximately 140 employees from the MKE station. This included but was not limited to: maintenance, grooming services, flight-line and gate.
In February 2012, Frontier Airlines further reduced service to Milwaukee by cutting five more nonstop routes. This move "reduced Frontier's daily departing flights out of Mitchell International from 32 to 18," or 56%. Frontier announced further layoffs in conjunction with this route change: up to 446 Milwaukee-area employees were affected by the job cuts that occurred between April 15 and 30, 2012.
In an effort to focus on regional contract flights for major carriers, Republic Airways Holdings announced in January 2012 its intention to sell or spin off Frontier. On January 26, 2012, Republic Airways Holdings appointed former US Airways and Gate Gourmet CEO David Siegel as president and CEO of Frontier Airlines. Republic also added new senior officers for Frontier's finance and commercial team, among other changes in the executive leadership team. Siegel and other Frontier executives moved to Denver where Frontier is headquartered in order to facilitate management of all aspects of Frontier during its separation process from Republic and continue its transformation into an ultra low-cost carrier (ULCC).
In November 2012, Frontier started low-frequency service between Orlando International Airport and Trenton–Mercer Airport (TTN), located in Ewing, New Jersey, which at that time, had no commercial service. Frontier later expanded service several times from Trenton, and as of January 2023, it served nine destinations. Frontier currently bases three aircraft in Trenton. Trenton Mercer Airport lies roughly equidistant between Philadelphia International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.
In July 2013, Frontier started service from Wilmington-New Castle Airport (ILG) near Wilmington, Delaware, to five destinations, which Frontier markets as Wilmington/Philadelphia. Again, this airport had no commercial service prior to Frontier's entry. New Castle Airport lies roughly 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia International Airport and 75 miles northeast of Baltimore–Washington International Airport. As of 2022, Frontier does not serve ILG.
Frontier marketed both the Trenton-Mercer and Wilmington-Philadelphia airports as low-cost, low-hassle alternatives to the existing nearby commercial airports.
Frontier is the only commercial carrier at Trenton, and was the only carrier at ILG until it left in 2022.
In October 2013, Republic Airways Holdings entered into an agreement with private equity firm Indigo Partners to sell Frontier Airlines for approximately $145 million. According to Indigo, the transaction would further Frontier's evolution into an ULCC. In December 2013, Indigo Partners LLC, through an affiliate, completed the purchase of Frontier Airlines from Republic Airways Holdings. The airline's headquarters remained in Denver. On January 1, 2014, Republic Airways Holdings subsidiary Republic Airlines ceased its operation of Embraer 190 aircraft on behalf of Frontier.In 2014, Frontier announced it would be transitioning into an ULCC. Frontier also announced that it would cut several flights and jobs at its Denver hub and transition them to different markets. On January 16, 2015, Frontier announced that it would close both its Denver and Milwaukee call centers, laying off 1,300 employees and outsourcing the jobs to call center company Sitel, which operates a large call center for Frontier in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Frontier Airlines joined Spirit and Allegiant in June 2015 by eradicating its toll-free telephone number for customer service.
In June 2014, Frontier Airlines opened a crew base for flight attendants at Trenton–Mercer Airport.
In January 2015, Frontier Airlines cut several flights from Wilmington and Trenton. It also resumed service to Philadelphia, casting doubt on the airline's existing bases. In late June 2015, Frontier announced it had ceased service in Wilmington, stating it was not profitable.
In February 2015, Frontier announced that they would begin service to several destinations from Atlanta, adding the airport as a focus city. In July, Frontier began to decrease service from Washington Dulles International Airport, removing the airport as a focus city. In early 2016, Frontier announced major route expansion from airports nationwide, including Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Orlando, and Philadelphia. In June 2016, Frontier re-established service to John Glenn Columbus International Airport. In May 2017, the airline announced it would open a new crew base in Las Vegas in fall 2017, to improve operational reliability and potentially create new jobs in Las Vegas. In December 2017, Frontier began service to Buffalo, New York, with service to Denver, Colorado, and Florida, including Miami, Fort Myers, Orlando, and Tampa.
In May 2015, Indigo and Frontier announced the departure of David Siegel as CEO. He had already previously turned over the role of president to Barry Biffle, formerly of Spirit Airlines. Siegel was not immediately replaced; instead, his duties were split between Biffle and Indigo chairman Bill Franke. Biffle cited operational issues in connection with Siegel's departure.
In 2015, in an airline quality rating report by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Wichita State University, Frontier was ranked amongst the five worst airlines in the United States, especially due to its rate of customer complaints and bumped passengers. The airline had relatively poor on-time performance, and the waiting time for help when calling the airline on the phone was reported to have risen to two hours or more.
In December 2016, a winter weather event disrupted fleet operations and caused Frontier to delay or cancel up to 70% of their flights suddenly during the peak of the crisis. On the weekend of December 17, the storm caused major delays at Frontier's Denver hub. The effects of the storm were felt throughout the fleet. Flights were delayed or canceled at airports across the country; in some cases, planes were ready to depart, but the airline had no rested and available flight crews to service the flights. The head of Frontier's pilot's union issued a statement criticizing the companies' handling of the event, comparing the airline to a "house of cards."
2020s
In 2020, class-action lawsuits against Frontier were filed after the company refused to refund airfare for customers who could not travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company accepted part of the $25 billion in U.S. government funds to offset financial damage to the airline industry during the outbreak.
On April 1, 2021, Frontier went public with an initial public offering on the Nasdaq exchange. The company adopted the ticker symbol ULCC, a nod to the company's ultra low-cost carrier business model.
In early 2022, Frontier attempted to acquire Spirit Airlines, another US-based ULCC in a US$2.8 billion cash-and-stock deal. The deal would have created the fifth-largest airline in the country. After announcing the proposal, JetBlue made a competing offer to acquire Spirit for US$3.6 billion in cash. On July 27, 2022, Spirit announced that its shareholders had rejected Frontier's offer.
In November 2022, Frontier announced that it would establish a crew operating base at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in early 2023, and would add a gate in DFW Terminal E for flights to additional destinations starting in April of that year. That month, it also eliminated its customer service phone line completely, referring customers to online channels.
In 2023, a series of class-action lawsuits in multiple states were filed against Frontier alleging that passengers with bags which met the airline's advertised personal item size were systematically forced to check their bags at the gate, incurring a $100 fee. The class action was preceded by an influx of videos on the social media platform TikTok criticizing Frontier's baggage policy, with a focus on Frontier's practice of paying agents a commission if they can get passengers to pay for oversized baggage at the gate prior to boarding. The criticism led Frontier to admit that policies were not being "consistently applied" by its gate agents, as well as that the airline pays its agents a commission bonus for every passenger that is charged with an additional baggage fee at the gate.
In February 2024, another video about Frontier's baggage policy went viral on TikTok. In the short video, a frustrated passenger alleges that Frontier covertly makes their baggage sizers smaller than the advertised dimensions in order to up-charge customers for baggage; to prove this, she demonstrates how her personal item comfortably fits within the sizer of competitor airlines like Spirit Airlines but cannot fit into Frontier's sizer, despite the two airlines having the same listed dimension allowance.
On December 4, 2024, the Senior Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer of Frontier, Robert Schroeter, testified before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations at a hearing on predatory "junk" fees charged by airlines for baggage. Senators from both parties, including Senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal, harshly criticized Frontier's incentives program for its gate agents, pointing out that it had resulted in upwards of $26 million being paid out in baggage fee commissions by 2023.
In 2025, Frontier, known for having the lowest cost per mile in North America at $0.0985, ranked fifth in the 2025 edition of Skytrax's annual "Best Low-Cost Airlines in North America" ranking.
On July 14, 2026, Frontier announced it would install Starlink Wi-Fi services in-flight starting in 2027, after both American/United had installed those services earlier that same year (2026), making that the first such wireless connection offered by Frontier.
From Wikipedia’s article on Frontier Airlines, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.6