Frontier Airlines is a discount-fare airline based at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights throughout the United States and Mexico.

History

Frontier 737 in 1979

The first Frontier

The original Frontier Airlines was based at Stapleton Airport in Denver, Colorado, where it competed with Continental Airlines and United Airlines. Frontier was purchased by People Express in 1985, but the merger brought down People Express and forced the combined company to merge into Continental shortly afterward.

The second Frontier

A new Frontier Airlines was created in 1994 by former Frontier executives. Like its predecessor, it was launched using Boeing 737 jets, but it has since started switching to Airbus A319 and Airbus A318 [1]. Flight operations began in 1994, and like the original Frontier, it flies out of Denver and competes with two other Denver-based carriers, United Airlines and its discount subsidiary Ted. In the late 1990s, Frontier began purchasing Airbus aircraft and offering DirecTV in-flight television on its new aircraft.

Frontier has routes extending from coast to coast and to Mexico. The vast majority of its flights are through Concourse A in Denver, although Frontier has recently begun direct service to Los Angeles and Cancun from several other cities.

Fleet

• Boeing 737-300
• Airbus A319
• Airbus A318

Livery

An all-white fuselage with silver billboard-style "Frontier" titles on the sides of the aircraft. Frontier uses nature photography on the vertical stabilizers and winglets of the aircraft to produce a distinctive look, touted in their advertisements along with their slogan: "A Whole Different Animal."

Confusion with Frontier Flying Service

Frontier Airlines is occasionally confused with Fairbanks, Alaska-based Frontier Flying Service, because of the similarity in name. Passengers at Anchorage International Airport are especially prone to this confusion, because both Frontiers fly out of the airport, albeit from different terminals.

IATA Code

Frontier Airlines uses the IATA designator code F9.