Frontier emerges from bankruptcy, becomes part of Republic portfolio

Frontier Airlines Holdings, parent of Frontier Airlines and Lynx Aviation, officially emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday and was acquired by Republic Airways Holdings as planned.

Frontier and Lynx will continue to operate under their names with, at least initially, no change in flight schedules, amenities offered or frequent-flyer programs. "This is the end of a long, difficult journey and the beginning of a new, exciting one," Frontier President and CEO Sean Menke, who will retain his position, said in a statement. "We are also looking forward to building on our relationships and working with both Republic and Midwest Airlines [acquired by Republic on July 31] to build a strong, sustainable, competitive airline."

Republic acquired Frontier via a court-monitored auction process for $108.75 million (ATWOnline, Aug. 17). In addition to Frontier, it owns Midwest, Chautauqua Airlines, Mokulele Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America.

"Frontier's successful exit from Chapter 11 closes a difficult chapter in its history and allows us to move forward together to capitalize on the many opportunities to make two excellent brands even stronger," Republic Chairman, President and CEO Bryan Bedford said.

Including Frontier, Republic now offers scheduled passenger service on approximately 1,800 daily flights to 126 cities. It has more than 11,000 employees and operates 294 aircraft.

by Aaron Karp

Originally published 5 Oct 2009 at: http://feeds.atwonline.com/~r/AtwDailyNews/~3/0MSsPMAV4Ck/story.html