Gordon Gecko, anyone?

AGAIN, WHEN WILL SOUTHWEST EFFECT COME TO ANCHORAGE, ALASKA?

I think that Airtran Airways should buy Frontier Airlines

Southwest has just become a ruthless, money hungry, and ignorant carbon copy of the old Aeroflot and now you're going to go in and destroy Frontier like American destroyed TWA and right in the middle of a horrible economy no less. Disgusting! Frontier is in a position now to do just fine without you with Republic at the head, the brand still intact(which is far better than yours), and all of the jobs still there. If you follow thru with this then my business goes to United and Continental! I hope Republic OR FRONTIER PARTNER AIRTRAN gives you a serious run for your money.

AGAIN, WHEN WILL SOUTHWEST EFFECT COME TO ANCHORAGE, ALASKA?
BROKEBYALASKAAIR — Fri, 07/31/2009 - 19:30
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You don't want this. They're like a parasite. They come in and kill off your present airline and replace them with one that has half the amenities and then shrink back down once they have a stranglehold on you to a size that is just big enough to keep everyone else out but give you a major headache. Look at Nashville and American Airlines and the fact that they are now in the process of the killing off our only other low cost alternative.

Its a sad day. Go away Southwest.
I will take my business to United .

Does SWA have a good ski team?

In order to fly INTERNATIONAL (not addressed yet by WN) you need to have a level of sophistication that you'll never have. So fudgetabouit, Mexico and Costa Rica are already in the chopping block... They cannot even understand how to take their crappy 737's overseas... Ain't gonna happen!

Seems like to me that Southwest can't simply start swapping existing or new 737's for the Airbuses currently going to Mexico and Central America. Doesn't an operating certificate apply to only a certain type of aircraft? And given that Southwest doesn't just sit still and would be happy with 6 destinations south of the border, it would need a way to expand in that direction and others as well, but with 737's, a magazine, and a bag of peanuts?

Maybe a nice outcome would be that Southwest could shift Frontier's operations to be its "international" arm, and therefore re-assign many of the planes, employees, and general "know how" to other "hubs" such as Chicago, Baltimore, Phoenix, Vegas, etc and use an enhanced "product" with setback TV's, etc. for longer distance international travel.

Remember that Southwest had to connect with ATA in order to start serving Hawaii (as well as LGA, DCA, and others), and when ATA went bust they had to drop Hawaii off the route-map the next day, suffered that black eye, and hasn't been back since. Southwest has talked for years to hook up with a partner to the south to start offering Mexico service and to other countries, but maybe because of the ATA experience they don't want to rely on other airlines to represent the "Southwest" brand.

Of course SW would want to keep using 737's in Denver and in the U.S. but they are a big enough airline to start using another aircraft type if they really want to. Other low cost airlines and some actually more "lower cost" than Southwest are using multiple aircraft types, such as Airtran, Jetblue, and Spirit.

To those that say that "Southwest would never do this" or "never to that" might have been right in the past, but in order to be around for another 30 years and more, it needs to change beyond simply adding one U.S. city after another to the route map when the growth opportunites that way are rather limited.

This could be a whole new chapter for a great airline that does well adapting to change - and maybe Frontier employees can keep an open mind that they can possibly be part of an exciting new era and go along for the ride!

"Southwest has just become a ruthless, money hungry, and ignorant carbon copy of the old Aeroflot "

Congratulations! You've now taken over 1st Place if the most ridicuously hyperbolic comment division. Well-done!

It's time for a reality-check. A surprising number of posters are under the impression that a Knight on a white horse can ride into bankruptcy court, purchase Frontier Airlines, invest large sums of money and continue to operate Frontier in the same-old way. That plan would simply be a round-trip ticket to bankruptcy court.

Frontier has been on bankruptcy life-support since April of last year. Frontier cannot save itself. Nobody is destroying Frontier. Bidders at the bankruptcy auction will simply purchase the component assets they feel can be revived—they cannot save the airline as we know it. They can save part of it. Regardless of who purchases what assets at the bankruptcy auction, Frontier's life as we know it is over and it is always painful to lose a beloved friend.

L Moody

Okay for real. You people who aren't reading the corporate speak are being flat out stupid and blind. Frontier is a business. Southwest is a business. Shut up and listen. Yes F9 is in bankruptcy...thank their credit card processor for that. They've had issues, but turned them around. Southwest, the almighty profit machine, finally went south recently. Why? fuel prices. If you have even bothered to look at their numbers, the airline operation has been losing money for awhile now but the fuel hedge/trading business was making bank for them. Once oil dropped, they lost that source of income so the entire company went into the red. And please, leave the fictitious, Southwest invented "Triple Crown" out of this. The FAA/DOT awards no such designation...this was made by the WN marketing folks, a great idea mind you, and that is it. Oh...and WN hasn't been ranking in all top 3 main indexes at the same time for a while.

Also Kathleen that was posting on the other one. The F9 product offering is superior. Yes their are charges for baggage, but if you haven't noticed most people tend to bring everything on board. The A320-family aircraft cabin is also bigger than the 737, so if you argue the 737 has a bigger feel...you have never been in an A320 or are just flat out lying. F9 serves several secondary airports as the only choice for low fares, that WN would never serve on their best day. These cities will likely close as they are with in the 2 hour drive of another WN station, and WN feels this is effective enough to serve those cities. The inflight experience on F9 is great. If you want to take advantage of the LiveTV you can, if not...then it isn't a big deal. And as far as F9 being $100 more than WN...you have obviously never priced the two. Let alone, when do you buy your tickets? Unless you are doing same day, or 1-day advanced purchase...WN will always be HIGHER than most competitors. I priced a trip not too long ago from a mutual WN & F9 city to Detroit, also served by both. F9 came in around $220 round trip...WN...about $370. So I should pay more for a flight with out assigned seating, IFE, etc....and instead go for the flight where I'm making 2 stops along the way? Stupidity reigns.

Now with Ron Rick's answers...

1. This is clearly a very emotional issue, and some Frontier employees have expressed fear and concerns about our bid. What will happen to Frontier employees? Why should they welcome this news?

****Over time, however, Frontier employees would be hired into Southwest as needed to support our fleet growth and expanded operations. ****

Meaning...ALL F9 employees will have to reapply for their job just like Morris Air, TranStar, and ATA employees had to. In cities like DEN where there is going to be a good deal of overlap, they aren't going to get hired on since there will be a WN employee already doing the work. Spinning this any other way is just flat out lying to the F9 employees. YES you have a chance at keeping you job, just like you do under the Republic option...but you are going to have to re-apply to keep it. This also keeps WN from having to respect any time the employee has spent with the company. Oh yes...F9 is in bankruptcy blah blah blah. So was UAL, US Airways, Delta, Northwest, etc. They had some job cuts, but those airlines made it with the right investors. Republic isn't stupid and F9 is nice operation to get use to operating a full fledged airline versus a contract operator.

2. We’ve said that we believe this move would increase competition in Denver. Can you explain how Southwest’s acquisition of Frontier will enhance competition?

>>>Southwest has a 38-year history of reducing fares and stimulating new traffic<<<

Umm, but the traffic is already stimulated in Denver thanks to F9 and WN already being there. Try again.

>>>Today, Southwest is the third largest airline in Denver, carrying only 14 percent of Denver passengers. United, by far Denver's largest airline, carries about 50 percent of Denver's passengers. The combination of Southwest and Frontier in Denver will still be smaller than United (about one-third of flights to United's 50%) but will immediately position Southwest as a larger and more effective low-fare alternative to United.<<<

So what you are saying, you are just combining the numbers of WN and F9 so that makes YOUR market share go up...okay I follow that, and it will position Southwest as a larger alternative to United. However, you are also eliminating that one alternative known as Frontier. So essentially you are eliminating a competitor but gaining market share yourself, which in total for the local community will have no net gain except actually fewer options and markets to fly to. Let's be honest. DEN isn't at capacity at all, except for gates. Build more gates than grow the market yourself. Why bother buying out another airline? Oh ya...it removes the pricing pressure on you. Sorry forgot about that.

>>>>It is also worth noting that Southwest has historically priced its fares independent of the number of airlines it is competing against, because Southwest also competes with ground transportation (rail, bus, car) and takes that competition into account in setting its fares. <<<<

How is Amtrak doing in Denver these days? And really...you price against bus and car travel? Then I want to sit down and discuss these fares, because they may be a bit too high unless things in Dallas are overpriced.

3. What will happen to the smaller routes like Aspen that Frontier currently flies?

>>>Of course, one of the interesting aspects of Frontier is the Lynx operation. Lynx serves a number of smaller markets in Colorado and other states. As part of the due diligence work with Frontier over the next week, Southwest will learn more about Lynx in order to develop a plan as part of our bid.<<<

IOW, we tried this with TranStar and it failed. We are going to ask they aren't part of the company when we submit the official bid. So to those smaller communities, Enjoy United!

4. What about routes that Southwest and Frontier both serve – will that capacity be reduced?

Not going to bother posting his response. The simple answer as there is with any consolidation is....routes and capacity will be cut. That's it. Sorry for those in cities with both, you will lose flights especially with WN's load factors on a lot of these routes pathetically low. If you want to see the actual numbers, the DOT publishes them for all to see. Not hard to find and best of all...they can't be spun by the spinmeisters here at WN.

5. Is Southwest planning to enter into routes currently only served by United?

Uhh...he diluted his response to the last question answering this one. But great job filling space with the same information.

6. Why wouldn’t we keep Frontier’s Airbus planes?

Single fleet commonality which really means nothing anymore, especially when you are talking about a larger sub fleet. The 737 does have a well established record, now if Southwest can actually properly maintain them the FAA is still questioning that...YAY for holes in the roof. At least it wasn't another Aloha incident where the entire thing came off. Oh and there is that whole thing about visiting the gas station at the end of the runway in Chicago. And also to the points by others on the safety of the A320-family...quit speaking out of your behind. There aren't any outstanding issues with the Airbus narrowbody family that would make them unsafe. At least they didn't have any major faulty design issues that would make them plow into the ground in Colorado Springs and Pittsburgh.

7. There are a lot of things about the Frontier brand that Denver Customers really enjoy – like seatback TV’s. What is going to happen to those amenities?

Should be...we'll look at them for about 30 seconds and then just tell you that they will be going away. Oh, but let me ignore the question and bring up bag fees because that is our current PR push.

8. Frontier is the hometown carrier in Denver – how will the community be affected by the acquisition?

Jobs will be lost, competition will go down, but you get to see 737s all over the place flying to the same routes we already fly.

9. Given the tough economy and volatile energy prices, Southwest has had its own financial challenges is the past year. Why is Southwest in a position to buy Frontier?

This is a cheap ass deal to eliminate a competitor. $100 loss in this industry is nothing. They can effectively remove pricing pressure by getting rid of them and increase market share. Let's be honest. They can probably buy F9, shut it down that day, and they will recoup the $100 million in no time. Shut up with the dedicated partner BS. I think your unions will comment differently on just happy rosy and wonderful things are.

WWelifer, It is apparent we aren't he ones missing the point.

>>>I guess the message that most of you are missing. Meaning the ones being negative towards Southwest Airlines. Is that, Bottomline. As of August 11, 2009. Frontier will be no more. Either purchased by Republic or by Southwest.<<

That is correct. Frontier will become either a subsidiary of Southwest or Republic.

>>>Yes they may run by the Frontier name independently for a couple of years. However, when those couple of years end. Either Republic will be selling off those assets, as it is not in the business to be a Soley runned Frontier airlines. But to feed other airlines Routes. which means that will be dictated by other airlines anyways. <<<

They've already express the opinion they may look at offering an IPO when Frontier is able to stand on its own feet after reorganization. It is also highly probably that hey will combine the operations of Midwest into Frontier before spinning it off. However, Frontier would remain an separate operating entity and not have a portion of its operations absorbed into another.

>>>Or Southwest will take over and place all those assests in a place that will not only enhance the Travel options out of Denver. But throughtout the whole country.. A stronger Southwest Airlines presence, whether if someone will fly Southwest or another carrier. Means better competition and the continuance of Lower fares. Again, allowing those who have never flown or those that always do. Will have that option to Go And See the world.<<<

This is just a flat out lie and shows your ignorance when it comes to the facts. Southwest will take over the assets, but they have already said they will ground the fleet, force employees to reapply for positions with Southwest when those positions are taken over, and will likely discard Lynx. Exactly what assets are they keeping? They are eliminating a competitor and making it easier to place the massive amounts of 737s they have on order, instead of parking them in the desert or selling them like they've had to do the last few years. How will it enhance travel options? Consolidation will LIKELY reduce flight options and destinations for all consumers. It will also LIKELY reduce choices for consumers to pick. I mean for real people, go through market by market and compare prices...F9 blows WN away in most cases. Now go through and look at the loads and market share of WN vs F9, it is quite obvious.

And for god sakes, get off the "for people who don't fly to go and see the world." Baltimore and Spokane are not the world. International routes are likely going to get dropped and in 3-4 years you won't even recognize the F9 route structure. Guys for goodness sake. Go and look any any merger/acquisition Southwest has done or for that matter, any normal airline buy out. The routes and "assets" that get acquired are normally gone with in 5 years. This isn't going to be any different, and don't say Southwest does things differently. They've done it themselves and if you aren't going to acknowledge that then you are being blind or just stubborn at opening your mind to the facts and will continue to show just how uneducated with the situation you are.

NOTHING ECHED IN STONE There are so many blog comments here that the anger / frustration is so misdirected right to SWA ,WHO DID NOTHING WRONG AND EVERYTHING RIGHT, to do whats called (good business). ask yourself 2 questions : 1- would you put your self first when things are Tough (YES!!!) 2-would you put your family right up there with you (YES!!!). please start to focus on the true situation at hand ,Frontier is at the mercy of the court and economy . To be truthful about it , they have made some bad moves and not secured there families future-that is (bad business). Hate to say it but the true hurts. Bless and give the strength to all those negatively affected buy this purchase.

Realistically, this probably won't happen. F9's board as well as creditiors get to select which offer is better, it just doesn't go to the highest bidder. Any scenario which leads to F9 ceasing to exist will probably not be selected.

WN has made it perfectly clear that they have no intention to retain F9 as a partner nor it's employees. Airbus is a creditor and will likely not be very enthusiastic about allowing a sale to WN that has no interest in it's product.

Furthermore, the FAPA has to approve the deal or it doesn't go through, and they have already stated that a deal that doesn't include continued employment for our employees at F9 is going to be a no go.

I'm starting to see alot more negativity between the work groups when it's really neither of our faults. The WN employees didn't tell management "hey buy F9" and F9's employees didn't have upper management expand too fast and blow millions of dollars on focus cities that failed.

WN folks have to understand that our lively hood is being threatened and all the smoke being blown up our a**es is frustrating when everyone in here knows how this works out for F9 people in the end...not so good. No one questions that WN is a good company and obviously a good one to work for. Likewise, F9 is a good company who learned from it's mistakes and is now a profitable carrier, and is also a good company to work for.

If F9 was as weak and fragile as some have implied....WN would have crushed us long ago. We survived when no one gave us a chance. We have gone toe to toe with WN in a horrid economy, in arguably the most competitive market in the US and not only continued to operate, but also made money.

As another blogger stated, F9 is doing very well in Denver, even better than WN. That's not saying WN isn't a good airline, it's just saying that in this Market, we fair well against them.

All I ask is for people to quit reading into the PR crap being strewn about and look at what will actually happen if WN aquires F9, you will erase us from existence and we will for the most part lose our employment. Look at any of WN's previous aquisitions, they are all gone....all of them...why would we be any different? At least show us the respect to acknowledge the truth.

To BNA -

I think you are mixing up the history a bit. AA came to Nashville as a hub carrier when our new airport was opened. Several years later, they abandoned the Nashville hub and drastically reduced flights out of BNA. WN came in and (over time) took over the C concourse which had been deserted by AA. I'm thankful we have a large WN presence at BNA...we get to fly to more destinations (often non-stop), at lower fares, than most cites our size.

F9 Ramp,

L Moody said this earlier on Aug 1st, and with all due respect, you should read and understand their post...

"It's time for a reality-check. A surprising number of posters are under the impression that a Knight on a white horse can ride into bankruptcy court, purchase Frontier Airlines, invest large sums of money and continue to operate Frontier in the same-old way. That plan would simply be a round-trip ticket to bankruptcy court.

Frontier has been on bankruptcy life-support since April of last year. Frontier cannot save itself. Nobody is destroying Frontier. Bidders at the bankruptcy auction will simply purchase the component assets they feel can be revived—they cannot save the airline as we know it. They can save part of it. Regardless of who purchases what assets at the bankruptcy auction, Frontier's life as we know it is over and it is always painful to lose a beloved friend."

L Moody

If anyone had any doubt that this is an open forum, they'd only need to read the last few posts to know. I've stopped participating in some Yahoo forums because I got tired of people posting rude, inaccurate, flaming comments from the anonymity of their keyboards.

NOTHING in anything that's currently out, from the press release, to the press conference, to Paula's attempts to deal with the screaming hordes here IN ANY WAY backs up a "General Sherman/Atlanta" type burning down of Frontier. Spending over $100M to just "get rid of the competition" is the stupid financial planning, and if true, would be reflected in our stock price on Wall Street. Oh yeah, our stock's up since the announcement.

And if you think a commuter carrier is going to support wage rates and benefits that a currently in place..........REALLY?? All airlines are businesses!!!

Frankly, I wish there were some filters on this site, because I'm tired of reading the screaming tripe posted by people with their hair on fire.

Just my opinion.

Will — Sat, 08/01/2009 - 07:27
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You're quite rude. I hope that whatever you do for SW doesn't involve Customer Service or working at one your stations because that would be some crappy service if it were the case. If you don't want to hear what your customers have to say or give a rats behind about what Frontier's customers and employees(who have every right to like their airline and want it stand alone just like you do-pride in a company other than yours isn't a sin) then take your blog down or don't ask for it by making a post soliciting it. It's hilarious that you say that you don't accept email because you want that "personal touch" and professional atmosphere with names and addresses that you get with a letter but then at the same time you do this. Also, if you don't think that getting rid of Frontier's assets and product features and replacing it with yours without absorbing or keeping any part of it around sans gates and routes like you bought from dead ATA(which is the suggested intention in the interview above) spending 100 million+ to scrub a competitor then I'd love to hear what you do call it. And of course that would drive your shares up because its growth and the death of someone whose been eating into your profit so ultimately it would mean more money for you and them. What a screwed up company you've become. And yea that may all seem rude too...BUT YOU ASKED FOR IT.

L Moody or the Anonymous who reposted what they said....Frontier has restructured in Banruptcy so they are not the same as what brought them in, they now make money, and if the economy was not such that they can't get exit financing right now then they would not have be bought by anyone and Republic was/IS a perfect remedy to that problem. All one has to is go back and look at their old news releases and website to see that they've done the neccessary restructuring.

Let me also add to the first of the two posts that I just made that it gives me great pleasure to know that my potential alternative to you Continental, kicked YOUR tail in Houston when you tried to run Muse. I'll enjoy them all the more with that knowledge as well as the fact that they are the one airline who has never stopped competing with you at Love Field.

Republic's regional payrates for mainline employees sounds like a great win for Frontier especially since Southwest's employees are some of the best paid in the industry.

Also, I believe the fact that the Frontier brand has received bids should be exciting for the employees of an unprofitable company that could simply shut down. All airlines (even Southwest) are for profit companies in a capitalist economy. If you are a stockholder who wants to get a return on investment from any solution with Frontier, does that make you as "greedy" and "money hungry" as Southwest?

TO SWA F/A
" Once again all of these Frontier employees are bragging about beating Southwest with market share and how profitable they are now. How they seem to forget that the reason they are profitable is because they are operating UNDER BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION. If Southwest did not have to pay its bills I am sure our profit margins would be alot higher. "

This is not bragging...it is an absolute fact....furthermore...we were doing better than WN in Denver prior to First Data forcing us into Bankruptcy. Fact....no other airline in the last 2 years was going to compete with WN heads up when your Oil hedges were in place and Oil was at record highs. Whomever did your hedges at the time was brilliant and made a great decision, no one will deny that. But F9 is still here...and guess what...were paying bills, otherwise...we couldn't aquire important things for an airline...such as fuel? Aircraft Parts? Yes we pay bills.

SWA F/A
"I have nothing against F9 but no matter how you look at it whether its Southwest or Republic Frontier Airlines as you know it is gone."

Also incorrect. Republic has cleary stated we will continue to operate as Frontier Airlines with our current fleet of A/C. Southwest has cleary stated the contrary and will put all of us out of jobs. Please actually think about what you write when you clearly don't know, nor pay attention to the facts.

TO L Moody
"Frontier has been on bankruptcy life-support since April of last year. "

This is just simply not true. Frontier is far from being on Life Support. We have turned a profit for 3 straight quarters.....can any other airline say that? Our cost structure is probably the lowest in the industry atm including WN's. We are running a 90% Load Factor on a daily basis. The money we were paying into first data every month to the tune of milllions and millions of dollars is paid and now all our profit goes to our bottom line. Frontier only needs exit financing to re-enforce it's bottom line , F9 wants a little more cash in reserve to have more liquidity for operations. Were not looking for a savior....just a cash infusion, as do all companies seeking to exit bankruptcy.

So many people care to make assumptions on our condition when they simply have zero knowledge of our operation. Southwest actually limited our pass agreements in Denver because they were being inundated with pass requests. You know why? Because no one could non-rev on F9 and they could always get a seat on WN out of DEN.

Quit portraying us as this wounded dying entity when it is simply not the truth. The only thing WN has done in Denver is steal people from UA and other carriers here with less presence. F9's share has continued to grow even after WN arrival.

"F9's share has continued to grow even after WN arrival."

I believe that's called "the southwest effect."

does anyone else find it ironic that f9 employees are coming to this site to brag about themselves and insult swa and then have the nerve to call swa employees trashy or smug? the anger seems misdirected. everuyone seems to agree that f9 has been a good airline (even though they've had poor management and bancrupsy). don't tarnish your good image (or legacy) with bad behavior now.

You all aren't being good hosts so far by not understanding that they are in fact a viable airline(through your own ignorance only) and are frustrated by the fact that you want to take a product that they've worked so hard to create and just eliminate it for market share along with a nice size share of them. Their good airline and good customer experience will continue as long as we are allowed to exist. And if you're going to criticize then at least used good spelling. Haha.

"Let's just be clear that this fight for our beloved Frontier has not begun yet."

I guess denial isn't just that river in Egypt...

The BK Court folks may have some news flashes for you...

As the late Mr. Walter C. used to say, "...and that's the way it is..."

Me thinks BN was a former disgruntled legacy employee who lost their job due to WN expansion at BN. Face it WN just does it better than the legacies. F9 is but a small speed bump so you'd better get used to it as the legacies slowly die off. Just like the dinosaurs which is what they are. WN RULES!!! BTW just flew WN to/from BN & loved it as always. Poor poor AA. How pathetic they've become at BN.

No we're not coming here to brag about the money the company is making we are here to let you know how we feel about a company taking us over that is known for getting rid of the employees at F9 we see are selfs as a fam. so how would you like it to see your whole fam. loss there jobs ? i don't think you would like it to much and it and it would make you upset not knowning what you going to do now how your going to feed them keep a roof over there heads and food in there belly yeah we don't know whats going to happen if southwest takes control so we don't know what to think about the whole deal so yeah we're a lilttle pissed off but you whold be to so yeah i think Kool Aid is Yumm is right on alot of things so why don't you ask your CEO what his plans and for the F9 employees i'm sure he will tell you the things you want to hear but you also have to look past the smoke to see the truth.

Me thinks BN was a former disgruntled legacy employee who lost their job due to WN expansion at BN. Face it WN just does it better than the legacies. F9 is but a small speed bump so you'd better get used to it as the legacies slowly die off. Just like the dinosaurs which is what they are. WN RULES!!! BTW just flew WN to/from BN & loved it as always. Poor poor AA. How pathetic they've become at BN.

Anonymous — Sun, 08/02/2009 - 18:08
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First of all, I am a Nashville resident and customer and have never worked a day in the airline industry in my life. Second, its BNA and not BN(about as dumb as starting your post with "me thinks" ). Third, Frontier is another discounter who just happens to have better service and not a legacy. Fourth, American Airlines still has the other half of Concourse C, an Admirals Club, and flights to Miami, Washington, DC, Boston, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, and Los Angeles that provide connections to the Northeast, Midwest, West, Canada, the Carribean, Latin America, Europe and Asia. The only place that we can't get to conveinantly with them still is the rest of Florida which if you go back and remember that they used to be a partner with US Airways per this(http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/04/24/archive/main7924.shtml?tag=con...) and fly them to fill in that hole is not then a problem. London aside which we have easy connections to, we have just as much service as RDU which is still a focus city/hub for Eagle as noted here(http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?p=/footer/eagleOverview.jsp). American and US also have TV screens and digital gate podiums respectively as well as more comfortable seating which is actually secured to the ground unlike a few rows at some SW gates that have been added out on the tile and rock because they aren't secured. Clearly you don't get out much or have a really low standard.

Sure everyone loves F9....I love working here.

But it is time to face facts:

1. WE ARE BANKRUPT!

2. Our business model failed

3. Fancy In-Flight entertainment doesn't do Jack *hit if nobody is willing to pay for it.

4. We are a shell of what we were a year ago

5. Our salaries are toast....our futures are cloudy and we can be bought for chump change.

6. We folded as soon as Southwest hit our market.

7. Our loyal customers went to Southwest in droves.

8. If it is a choice to be owned by the sleaziest regional in the country (Republic) or Southwest....I'll take Southwest.

9. We have failed...our company has failed....it is time to make our best deal and move on!

And stop with the blubbering for Alaska or Airtran to come and save you. They can't afford it.

"Strength is irrelevant. Resistance is futile. We wish to improve ourselves. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service ours."

If you dont have anything nice to say why say anything at all. You guys have way to much time on your hands to be putting your 2 cents in for something that has not gone to auction yet. If you have children get off your computers and go read with them. Take a walk outside, enjoy life. We always tell our children when they are throwing a fit to take a deep breath. I think many people on this post need to do the same and give the courts and companies bidding for Frontier time to let the process work. Stop being entitled (crying over inflight entertainment... really?), if you have not noticed our country is not the same. We are very lucky individuals to live in a society that lets us state our opinions. Let the process work and save your opinions until the ink is at least on paper... Let's be patient and wait for the bidding to close and the actual auction to commence. I believe we can all wait until the 10th. God Bless America!

People lets not get all upset because Frontier has done well, but not well enough to survive the
storm, it took time for the airline to accomplish what it has, but now it must sell. If Southwest Airlines become the taker of the buyout, then we all have to work together to make sure that all of frontier customers and southwest customers are happier and offered the same service that you all are use to. All of the negativity that has been said is not necessary, foremost that this will be a great move for southwest and many of you will grow to love it. We take care of the employees and all of our customer but this will be one occasion where things will have to work out with both airlines. You rather a profitable airline buy you than not to have a job at all. Lets look at the bright side of this for both airlines and mend and make this better for WN and F9.

Re: F9 ramp. I didn't hear any of you F9 employees complain when your airline went into BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION. Your airline walked out on paying all of it's overdue bills. How about you crying about all of those employees that got laid off their jobs after your company walked out of paying their bills. How about the contractors that did work for your airline that didn't get paid. How about all of us tax payers who had to help bail you out in bankruptcy court. SWA offers you a long term job with excellent benefits. Republic and Air Trans would come in and pick you apart anyways. Oh and on your TV service mounted on the seat backs, maybe you should do away with the things that cost you too much money. Why are you giving away soo many things free when you can't pay your bills.

You know that a lot of this hate and negative stuff is obviously posted by people that are scared and rightfully so. I think that if you just look at the facts that you will see that either way things are going to change for F9. Anybody who is lucky enough to know that being part of WN is awesome. It is nice to come to work and love your job. I would ask if you don't like WN for whatever reason that you just don't apply. Go do something that you truly love because most people at WN are positive and love their company. This is because they take care of people including their employees. This is why the company is so successful. We take care of eachother and treat people with respect. It is very unfortunate that the hometown airline of Denver is coming to an end but that is just the way it is. If the shoe was on the other foot I am sure as an adult I would just accept things for what they are. Most people at WN are excited for the change and embrace the growth and new things including F9 people that would come out of it. It is very likely that the people who are saying all of this negative stuff will be the first to apply at WN. Leave your negativity at the door and come work with a great company. You will LUV it!!!!!

F9 Soon To Be WN,

It's nice to see your calm, pragmatic analysis of the situation, and I wish so many of your cohorts were not swinging after the bell as they are.

Doesn't Southwest's entry into a smaller market limit the potential for international routes by another major carrier? Given Southwest's reluctance to work with other carriers (especially international) and reluctance to work towards international routes work at a disadvantage to the already internationally disadvantaged Denver Intl? Southwest on average flies a lesser number of passengers out of its major stations than F9 does out of DEN or other carriers. Wouldn't SWA make our numbers go way down, possibly hindering the current planned expansion? What about plans for a hanger down here in Colorado Springs?

Oh and F9 didn't walk out on overdue bills it was First Data's attempt to withhold 100% of credit purchases until fully cleared that forced F9 into bankrupcy overnight.

I guess this deal would lead me to one airline again, United, from COS-DEN-wherever they may take me.

Blah blah blah. Angst, double bubble toil and trouble!

Look "animals". You failed. Your CEO lied to you. You were not "holding your own against WN". Now then, your choices are clear:

Again.....you can look up just how were doing vs. WN in Denver...internet ftw..try it.

A. quit - how's CO's unemployment insurance?

Now your just showing what little class you have..gj

B. suck it up - realize that airlines buy / merge with other airlines. At least you'll have a high paying job in as close to a stable job as you'll find in this industry

Great..Guarantee that job...oh wait...you can't

C. whine on the WN blog about how you wanna keep F9 your F9. Right up until they close your doors eh? Tell us how that works out for ya.

Not whining..and I don't feel our door's are getting closed...I just enjoy all the interesting comments.

Republic is not your savior, WN is not your devil. And that bitter mary drinkin' her kool-aid needs to take another swig - it seems to not have worked yet.

I like Kool Aid...and I'll pick Republics version of Savior over WN's.

So rabble and howl. Your brand is dead, your airline is finished. Your plastic scarebuses are going to whomever is dumb enough to buy them.

Brand is very much alive based on all of our full airplanes, and better yet, they are flying on "scarebuses" w/o holes in the roof and cracks in the wings. Your really going to question the safety of our planes after WN's last 2 years? Really? 75 Million in fines....sheesh

Passengers have laptops and portable DVD players these days, and from what I've seen, are content to watch whatever they want on their own equipment so, mourn for your LiveTV (that you have to pay for!) now. You had a nice (second) run and it didn't work out. Gimmicks are cute though! (weee we have a goat on our airplane tail!). You can always look up pix on airliners.net

I'll prefer to look at the real planes, yes with real tv's, and continue to thrive in Denver.

Oh well. Better hope you can keep smiling and get a job with WN so you can spend all that extra cash on a therapist. I really hope WN catches all the trash in these interviews so it's not left to deal with the same crap that they STILL see from bitter Morris people.
Anonymous — Mon, 08/03/2009 - 03:21

LOL...Therapists...you obviously are the one with pent up emotions based on the angry tone of your blog. Even better, you bash on Morris Air peeps whom were hurt by WN as well...your a winner buddy!!!! Better yet....Most of you peeps who just wanna talk smack won't even post a name or where you are. I make it clear where I am from. Don't hide..you can find me right on the A Con in Denver....all this pansyazz Anonymous — Mon, 08/03/2009 - 03:21
crap.

Oh look, 69 total posts. About the same # of people in this country who GIVE A CRAP WHETHER F9 SURVIVES OR NOT!!!

Go away Southwest! We don't want you in Denver! It's well known that Southwest's main obejective when coming into the Denver market was to get rid of Frontier. You've had weekly managment meetings on just this topic --getting a home-town airline to go under. Well, congratulations, you did it. How does that make you feel? You moms must be so proud of you and your ethics! Aren't you happy that you make families of Frontier airline employees strees over their job secuurity? I really hope that you'd don't take over Frontier. Your airline is a disgrace!

Pardon me folks, but I have a favor to ask. I realize that there are strong opinions on every side of this issue, and we are happy to post them here on our site. I would just ask that you please try to respect one another’s opinions and refrain from personal attacks.

If you have any questions, please let me know or refer to our user guide at http://www.blogsouthwest.com/guide.

Thank you,

Paula Berg
Southwest Airlines

F9 failed because Southwest simply is a better product with no bag fees and no change fees. A lot of people think that customers don't know about the bag fees and change fees, but there are certainly enough that do and those people fly Southwest. If F9 would have seen that bag fees and change fees were driving their customers away and adopted the no bag fee and no change fee policy of Southwest, they wouldn't have gone into bankruptcy. But, they didn't. They thought they could get away with them because they had Direct TV. That didn't work.

I look forward to flying on a Frontier Airbus, owned by Southwest, maybe even repainted to say Southwest, where I did not have to pay bag fees or change fees. Further, I look forward to Southwest moving into the "A" gates at Denver.

Southwest has always taken care of their employees and I am confident that the Frontier employees who come over to Southwest will be getting a good deal from Southwest. But, they do need to learn to have some fun at their job, like those Southwest folks!

Paula, Thank-you for your comment regarding not to make personal attacks. I wrote the previous post and do believe we should all focus on the potentially positive aspects of this situation. Having said this, I am shocked to read the post before mine that states that Southwest had meetings to eliminate Frontier. If this person was at these meetings, I suggest they identify themselves and not write under anonymous, since it holds no credibility. Southwest has never tried to take Frontier out of buisness, Frontier created their own bankruptcy via poor management. If you read all of the F9 employees and fans posts, they are "kicking SWA's butts" so it is not Southwests fault even by their own admission that they are in financial trouble. On a personal note, I will welcome any Frontier employee with open arms, but hope we do not hire those that believe such unreal, hateful rumors! Not good for our corporate culture!

Paula or Brian-
If you don't mind me asking, why did you folks make this announcement about Frontier before you had your plans completely finalized and could accurately convey to us just what exactly it is that you are doing/hope to do? It seems that you simply put needless concern and stress in the lives of the Frontier Employees and Customers(as well as some of your own probably) by doing it prematurely like you did. About half of the issues you're having on here probably could have been avoided if Southwest had fully thought this through first and then announced a fully baked idea rather than one that's still in progress. That is not a personal attack, but just a genuine question and if you wouldn't mind speaking to it I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

WOW, it is suprising to see all the Frontier employees react this way and so negative? Maybe they are angry with Frontier's management for not keeping them afloat? TO ALL THE FRONTIER employee's - You should be so grateful these companies like Republic and or Southwest will be able to provide you to operate (for sometime) as Frontier and most importantly - still provide a J - O - B. The Frontier employee's made a choice to work for them. FRONTIER peeps here is the bottom line - If you don't want to work for Republic or Southwest then go find other airline jobs! There are plenty of other airlines operating in Denver. What would the FRONTIER employee's be saying if no other airline bid on them and the judge states - LIQUIDATE!! Hhmm, this means, sell off assets, reduce debt, lay off employees, close the doors...Hhmmmm - No brainer there! Ya can't operate in Bankruptcy forever! Sorry to be so harsh, but all of you have a choice! Lastly, either company is not going away! Moan, grown, all you want - Let the reality set in.

ya look only 69 comments from frontier customers who come to visit southwests site! haha well once again im an f9 employee who will be looking for work and once again i don't want your job,( if there is actually going to be one that is.) I bet we could get out the phone book and call all the ata and morris air folks who actually were offered jobs and have that task complete in 20 mins. For those of you telling us to grow up, you can pay my bills anytime

As a previous F9 employee, I would be scared but then again for the past 2 years I was, and it was stressful going to work everyday and not get any answers. I still strongly believe that when Jeff and Sam left that they knew something was up then. I felt that there had been a lot of things failing, going to markets that we couldn't even get people to work in LIT, and other cities that failed. Lynx wasn't the best idea ever either. They are fuel efficent because they were always cancelled and then we would have to work OT to rebook everyone which was more money for the company. The management started falling apart when friends were getting hired instead of people that actually knew the job, the company and the brand... I'm still just a little in aww that it is actually happening and still blame Menke for it a bit too... Actually a lot. All the unpluggeds and he couldn't answer any of our questions really and would scape goat around them... I give you all props for being able to hang in it longer then I could (we moved to another city and F9 was not hiring), but then at the same time... It was actually a stress relief.. Just felt like putting my 2 cents in. Best of luck to the F9 Family!

I wonder why F9 employees believe Republic is such a good option and Southwest such a bad one. If we have another dip in the economy, or another rise in fuel costs, or both, Southwest is much better prepared to weather the storm.

A Southwest acquisition will undoubtedly result in more change for the F9 folks, but when you're in bankruptcy, change might be the best thing.

W A L M A R T

Hey F9 employees..This is one Southwest employee who really likes your Airline...Regardless of what everyone on this blog wants to spew out..I hope nothing but the best for you guys..You deserve it!!! I have flown on your airline several times..Nothing but great employees and service..My favorite animal on the tail is the one of the White Rabbit.....Don't assume every WN employee is negative toward your company or your fellow co-wokers..There are over 38,000 of us here at Southwest..All my fellow co-workers I work with want nothing but the best for you..Trust me when I say there are some Southwest employees from ALL work groups who need to be shown the door....If you read a negative comment from one of our folks..Don't assume we all feel that way...Whatever the outcome is I wish you the best of luck.

I am from RNO - where WN holds around a 40-50% market share. I personally flew WN last week and I have nothing but the utmost respect for the ladies and gentlemen that run Southwest.

Let's look at the other airlines that are currently in or have left Reno recently.

American... bought out Reno Air, closed the Reno hub and countless jobs were lost. In the meantime, their connections now to places that used to be non-stop on Reno Air (QQ) are a joke. Las Vegas? Ha! Portland? Ha! Seattle? Ha! San Jose (another QQ hub)? Ha!
The only connections left on this dinosaur are to DFW and ORD; both of which I will avoid the plague!

ExpressJet: They didn't last very long... I think the experience with the jet up in Minnesota should be "enough said" about these guys

Continental: I don't want to waste my breath on how horrid this airline is. The IAH connection is a joke... and news flash, it's going away!

Delta / Northwest: I hope you like Salt Lake City and Minneapolis, cause that's all you get! Their fares are also higher than a kite.

United: Denver and San Fran... their fares are higher than ever!

Aloha: Nice while they lasted

US Airways: If they were as bad as I remember them, yikes! I'm suprised American West bought these guys out...

Frontier: It was nice while you lasted, but your fares were too steep when WN was almost 200 bucks cheaper!

Basically, that leaves us with Southwest. Southwest is one of the few bright spots at RNO. I can get anywhere in the region inexpensively and without delay with their multiple flights out. Yes, connections can be a pain sometimes, but with the legacy carriers pulling out (and they have made this choice voluntarily - look at the AA buyout of QQ) Southwest is one of our few hopes.

I had some issues with WN at LGA on the 30th... our flight was supposed to land at 7 PM on the 29th but didn't arrive until 3 AM on the 30th. WN had a voucher for the inconvenience the next day because there were some issues with the gate because they could not open a second gate to get us off our plane. I also got pretty ill on the flight back. Not only was I rescheduled, but got a cheaper flight back!

Now, that's the Southwest Spirit!

F9 employees, I understand your feelings of frustration. I worked for a school here that went through a merger and nothing seemed to be clearly communicated by management on either side of the aisle. I think that WN is doing the best they can given the restrictions of the BK process. I hope that you are able to find jobs either in the larger WN or elsewhere in the industry.