Frontier, in an unusual if not
unprecedented move, has issued a request for proposals from
communities that want the airline's new regional service.
It's common for
airlines, airports and communities to talk about new service,
including incentives that the communities might offer to help the
airline financially, with marketing a new service or with market
demand studies to determine whether the service can be profitable.
Many airports and communities are active in pitching for new
service on those grounds.
But aside from a
few annual domestic and international conferences where hundreds of
airlines and airport representatives get together, airlines don't
seek out offers in such a broad, public way.
That's not the
case here. Frontier decided to be more proactive, in part because
it is pressed for time.
In September
Frontier signed an agreement to purchase 10 74-seat Bombardier Q400
turboprop aircraft, and they are scheduled to be delivered in about
five months. It will use them for service by a subsidiary that
would bring low-fare service between as many as 18 "underserved"
markets in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region and its Denver
hub, where travelers could connect to Frontier's service to 57
North American cities.
Frontier also is
seeking a partner to operate up to 20 regional jets, to either
augment or replace the nine CRJ-700 aircraft currently operated by
Horizon Air as Frontier JetExpress. The expanded regional jet fleet
will be used to seed mainline service by developing new and smaller
markets into mature mainline markets for Frontier and to supplement
Frontier's mainline service.
To help determine
its new markets, Frontier in mid-October sent the RFP to about 50
airports and communities, many of which it had already been talking
to. It also issued a press release Oct. 17 to garner some publicity
in case it missed some airports and communities that might be
interested.
"In addition to
the markets we have targeted to serve with these aircraft, the RFP
that was issued this week will help determine the level of interest
and commitment from these as well as other potential communities,"
said John Happ, Frontier's senior vice president of marketing and
planning.
Frontier said the
RFP was issued "to provide all potentially viable communities with
an opportunity to outline their need for, and plans to support, the
introduction of Frontier's low-cost, high-quality air
service."
Frontier isn't
publicly releasing the RFP. But both spokesman Joe Hodas and a
source who has seen it said it talked only in generalities about
the incentives airports and communities might offer.
Hodas said
incentives, such as landing fee reimbursement, could not be the
primary basis of the response because Frontier wanted routes that
can be profitable on their own in the long term.
"We're not
interested in incentives longer than a year, because if we can't
get a route started in a year it's not a long-term play for us," he
said.
But Frontier
would appreciate market studies that help it determine the level of
demand and the support in marketing the service.
It's also looking
for information on an airport's facilities and technical
capabilities.
RFP responses are
due by Jan. 27. Frontier expects to begin initial service to new
regional markets by the middle of 2007.
To contact reporter Andrew Compart, send e-mail to [email protected].