Peachy the Fox - New Frontier A320

I spotted Frontier's new A320, N229FR leased from CIT, with Peachy the Fox on the tail.  I like the new look with animal photos more social media style than Mangelsen style wildlife photography of the old tails.

New Look Fox Airplane

Old Look Airplanes

Save 14% With Frontier This Week

Frontier will offer a 14% discount until 11:59 pm Eastern time Oct. 9, 2014. The discount will apply to regular and sale fares for domestic travel.  Tickets must be purchased online at FlyFrontier.com using the promo code PUMPKIN. 

Big Ole Jet Airliner

Frontier Airlines Promo Code June - July 2014 10% Off

Frontier will offer a 10% discount on domestic fares from Friday, June 13, 2014 through 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, Sunday, July 13, 2014. The discount will apply to regular and sale fares for domestic travel to/from Denver International Airport from June 14, 2014 through October 1, 2014. All fare rules will apply. Travel excludes the following blackout dates: 6/29, 7/3, 7/5 - 7/6, 8/28 - 8/29, 9/1; 2014.

Tickets must be purchased online below using the promo code WILDLIFE. No exceptions will be made.

Frontier Airlines Discounting Fares, Not Fees

Frontier Moves to A La Carte Pricing

Frontier was sold last year to the company that turned around Spirit Airlines and then sold it for large pile of money.  Frontier’s parent company seems to be trying that model again by making Frontier into a new Spirit.  They will still not offer perks to people buying tickets purchased anywhere but flyfrontier.com, but now those tickets come with less.  The full fare Classic Plus is unchanged and now there is only one other option, Economy.  The Economy ticket price includes your flight and one personal item that will fit under the seat. Then, you pay for the add-on choices you want, such as:  1st Checked bag – from $20 (just $15 if you join Frontier’s Discount Den), Carry-on bag – from $25 (just $20 if you join Frontier’s Discount Den), 2nd Checked bag – from $30, Ability to choose your seat starting at $3 on every flight.

Frontier Moving Closer to Ultra Low Cost Status

Frontier's Discount Den (sounds like Spirit’s $9 Fare Club): Together with these changes, we are introducing Frontier's Discount Den, a club whose members can receive discount fees on bags and access to ongoing promotional savings opportunities. Frontier's Discount Den members save $5 off their carry-on at time of booking and $5 off their first checked bag at check-in. Membership is free through June 2015 for all EarlyReturns® members, so sign up today. Then, log in to your EarlyReturns account to start saving!

Frontier Airlines Flat Tire FFT221

Frontier flight 221 had a flight tire in Austin yesterday.  The flight was scheduled to leave Austin at 6:55 and arrive in Denver before 8:00; instead it landed at midnight.  I've never seen an airplane with a flat tire, this was quite novel.  I was also thankful I was on the United flight to Denver 30 minutes later.

Frontier Airlines A319 

Denver Airport Is A Zoo

I enjoy puns, even bad ones.

Frontier Airlines Jets at DEN

Frontier Airlines Discount Code December 2

Save 15% on your next Frontier Airlines flight with the coupon code CYBER15.

Frontier A319 at Denver

Frontier Airlines will offer a 15% discount on domestic fares on Monday, December 2, 2013. Tickets must be purchased by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on December 2, 2013. The discount will apply to regular and sale fares for domestic travel from January 6, 2014, through March 5, 2014, for flights operating Monday through Saturday. Blackout dates of February 13-17, 2014, as well as all fare rules will apply.

Frontier Animal Tales

Every wonder what the names of the Frontier tail animals are?  Me too. Luckily Frontier provides the answer.

Andre the Antelope

Penguin Pals

Southwest Fighting In Denver - Status Match

Southwest is trying to steal elite flyers in Denver from Frontier (this happened last year) and United.  This is a big move to take on United on their home turf.  I can't wait for fare wars out of Denver to start.  United will match Southwest fares everywhere Southwest flies and I can grab some cheap miles and vacations.  Competition rocks!

Southwest 737 Heading for Battle

Here are the offer details:
We have an exciting opportunity for Colorado Rapid Rewards® Members who have elite status through the United Airlines MileagePlus® or Frontier EarlyReturns® programs!  Through April 30, 2013, MileagePlus Premier® and EarlyReturns Ascent or Summit members can get complimentary Rapid Rewards A-List Membership!

To take advantage of the status match offer, just send an email (make sure your Rapid Rewards state is CO first):

To:  RapidRewards@wnco.com
Subject:  Colorado Status Match Offer
Body:
1.  First Name:
2.  Last Name:
3.  Rapid Rewards(r) account number:
4.  Phone number:
5.  Attach a copy of your current, valid United MileagePlus(r) Premier(r) or Frontier EarlyReturns(r) Ascent or Summit membership card or statement.
6.  Enter "Colorado Status Match Offer" in the subject line.

To avoid delays, please ensure that your request includes all of the above information.  Please note that your e-mail submission cannot exceed five megabytes (5MB).

Frontier Airlines March 2013 Coupon Code

Use promo code SPRING5 and take 5% off your next fare. Buy by 3/18. Fly by 6/8/13. Happy travels.

Frontier Jets Ready to Go

Milwaukee Airport's Deserted D Terminal

Milwaukee's Mitchel Airport has a creepy deserted terminal that I never knew about until I flew through it last week.  Since Frontier changed their hub operation in Milwaukee to a lonely outpost, there are just two flights to Denver and a less than daily one to Mexico.  For this minor operation, Frontier has 26 gates and an entire terminal to themselves. There were several restaurants, but only one is open.  The closed ones still had all the fixtures and supplies to open any day, but are deserted.  The ground level gates with zero flights a day sill had a moving walkway and escalators running. It is an airport ghost town 

Moving Walkway to Nowhere

I'm surprised the airport authority doesn't move Frontier to an unused gate (they only need one or could share even) in another terminal and close the D terminal until traffic picks up enough to necessitate it.  The costs to keep a terminal up and running must be exorbitant and Frontier's landing fees don't cover the operation.  It would also remove a creepy ghost town, it was seriously disturbing (Omega Man?).

View On The Way Into Milwaukee

MKE still has a cool airport museum, I enjoyed browsing through it again.

Denver Snow Day

It's a snowy day in Denver, but things are running smoothly at DEN. I can't wait to get someplace warmer.

Frontier Jets at De-Icing

Frontier Airlines December 2012 Discount Coupon Code

Take 5% off Economy, 10% off Classic or 15% off Classic Plus fares. This promo works on regular AND sale prices...so don't miss out. Use promo code CHOICE when you book and choose the best deal.  Book by 12/10/12. Fly 12/17/12 to 1/21/13.

An Unrelated Picture From Boston, Frontier Goes There

Sign up for Frontier email alerts and you can receive these specials too.

Frontier Airlines September / October Discount Coupon Code

Frontier Airlines is offering 5% off flights in the continental US with coupon / promo code FRONTIER.  Book by 10/12 and fly by 3/17.  Use the code as much as you like. 

Frontier Airlines September Promotion

Frontier Airlines August Discount Promo Code

The fine print on this offer sums it up nicely:  9% discount applies to base fare only, not to fees or taxes, and requires purchase at FrontierAirlines.com using promo code LABORDAY. Discount applies on domestic fares for travel within the continental United States. Tickets must be purchased by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on August 17, 2012, for travel August 29, 2012, through September 4, 2012. Certain flights and/or days of travel may be unavailable, especially during busy travel periods. All fare rules apply.

Sunrise are Denver International Airport

Frontier Airlines Discount Coupon Code

Frontier Airlines is offering 18% off all domestic flights ("excluding Alaska and Hawaii, the freak states" -The Simpsons) now through July 5th.  Use code Birthday18.  Full details are available. I think this is a standard sale (not targeted to any area), not a retaliation to Southwest's recent attack on Denver.

Southwest Attacks Frontier in Denver

Now that Southwest / AirTran has won the battle with Frontier in Milwaukee, the next battle will be fought in Denver.  And it appears Southwest is looking to win the war in Denver by poaching Frontier’s most valuable customers.  I, like most other Rapid Reward members in Colorado I suspect, got this email today:

“We have an exciting opportunity for Colorado Rapid Rewards Members who have tier membership in Frontier EarlyReturns®!  From now through August 31, 2012, EarlyReturns Ascent or Summit members can get complimentary Rapid Rewards A-List Membership!  And as an added bonus, we'll even give you complimentary AirTran Airways® A+ Rewards® Elite status.  That means you can gain elite status in two frequent flier programs!”

Southwest Status Match Offer

Southwest wants to eliminate competitors.  That’s why they purchased AirTran and are dismantling it.  Next on their list is Frontier, an airline without a strategy or deep pockets.  It is an easy target.  Southwest doesn’t want to agitate United in Denver because UA will go broke to defend the Denver hub and the airline’s customers don’t overlap well.  Frontier can’t afford competition and their low cost customers can very easily become Southwest’s.  Look for Frontier to return fire; they can hold off Southwest in the short term, but are doomed if Southwest lays siege to Denver.

In Memory of Midwest Airlines (Midwest Express)

Frontier Airlines announced that they will stop serving fresh baked cookies on board their flights.  The cookie was the last remnant of Midwest Express.  Republic Airways purchased Midwest and Frontier out of bankruptcy and merged them together under the Frontier brand.  Midwest was known for having “The Best Care in the Air” and that included fresh baked cookies on all flights.  The cookie doesn’t fit with Frontier’s drive to be an ultra-low cost carrier, so it is no more.

Midwest Express Plane Landing

Midwest Airlines started as an extension of Kimberly-Clark’s aviation division.  Flights had 2x2 leather seating (when 3x2 was standard on similar jets) and every flight had a meal service.  It was an all first class airline with economy class fares.  Their hub was Milwaukee and they served all of Wisconsin, most of the Midwest and a few locations on each coast.  Midwest was also active in Milwaukee and advertised heavily, including upgrading fans to their airline seats at Brewers games to show off just how nice it was.  Midwest’s fresh baked cookies were even sold at the games.

Frontier Airlines E190 Plane, Cookie Free Since 2012 

Things took a downturn when high fuel prices and increased Milwaukee competition hit.  Midwest dumped the meals, but kept the cookies, added more seats, and started their race to the bottom.  They stuck it out for a while, but finally went bankrupt.  Republic purchased them in an attempt to make their own national branded airline with Frontier.  All the Midwest branding was removed.  The only thing left was the cookie and now that is gone too.  Midwest focused on service and the customer experience, but those aren’t things many people are willing to pay extra for.  It’s a shame and Midwest will missed.  The airline club at Mitchel Field in Milwaukee is called the Best Care Club, the last bit of Midwest Airlines branding (closing May 31st).

Pick the Next Frontier Airlines Tail

Frontier Airlines is letting customers pick the next tail image.  Voting is open here and you can win $100 gift card for participating.  I like Frontier’s animal tails; they help make looking out the window at DEN fun.  It’s also a very unique marketing ploy.   

Frontier Airlines Planes Lined Up at DEN

First Time On Frontier

I’m a Star Alliance flyer for about 99% of my trips.  It can get you almost anywhere in the world quickly and easily, but not DEN to LAX on a Wednesday after 9pm.  The only option was Frontier, so I joined a new frequent flyer program, booked my ticket, and broke my flying routine. 

I’ve been interested in Frontier since they (Republic Airways really) took over Midwest Express a few years ago.  Republic is a successful operator of regional jets for mainline carriers.  It’s a nice business model as the large airline pays for fuel and has to sell tickets.  Express carriers just need to show up with a plane and crew to collect a flat fee per flight.  A few years ago, Republic’s management decided to run branded service and purchased Frontier out of bankruptcy.  Soon after, they bought Midwest Airlines in bankruptcy too.  This isn’t proving to be the best business decision as Frontier loses as much money as their core business line makes.  Frontier has a large operation in Denver and is serious competition to United and Southwest at DEN; helping keep fares down.  They also have different animal pictures on their aircraft, so it makes for fun plane watching too.  I had never traveled with them before and didn’t know anything about flying with them.

My travel experience with Frontier was pleasant all around.  There were no lines at check in and no window seats on my flight.  Frontier sells their equivalent of Economy Plus called stretch seating; it provides a few more inches of leg room and seat up front, but I declined the upsell.  If you don’t buy a stretch seat, select row 20 or higher, those are the first rows called in general boarding.  The boarding process could have been done better because there was no general explanation of the process before it started, so everyone gathered around thinking they could be next.  The gate agent made one announcement per group and had to turn many people away because they didn’t hear the single announcement.  Frequent use of the PA would be a simple solution to a frustrating situation.

Decent legroom on Frontier's A320

The aircraft was a new A320 and spotless inside.  It had LED lighting and the new slim style seats.  I sat in seat 20B, a middle seat, but with enough space for the two hour flight.  There are seat back TVs available for a fee, unlike JetBlue’s free DirecTV offering.  The flight attendants came through with a drink offering and baked onboard chocolate chip cookies, the lasting legacy of Midwest Express.  The flight arrived on time and I enjoyed my first Frontier flight.  I don’t think I will become a regular, the EarlyReturns program is very weak, but will defiantly consider them for future travel.