Frontier signs agreement with AirTran

[-9Capt]

Frontier signs agreement with AirTran
By Chris Walsh, Rocky Mountain News
November 13, 2006
Frontier Airlines has cemented an agreement with AirTran Airways that allows customers to redeem frequent flier miles on both airlines.
The partnership, which the companies will officially announce Tuesday morning in Atlanta, also allows the airlines to book travel on each others’ flights, in effect broadening the reach of both carriers.
AirTran has a strong presence on the East Coast, serving dozens of cities that Frontier doesn't serve, including Boston, Miami and Savannah, Georgia. Frontier has a solid base on the West Coast, the Midwest and Mexico.
"This ultimately almost doubles our destinations and strengthens our frequent flyer program overnight," said Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas. "We’re going to be able to leverage each other’s route maps."
Under the deal, passengers can earn and use frequent flier miles from either companies’ programs for flights on both carriers, starting Tuesday.

 

[mnboyev]

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes....the baby carriage ? Hmm

 

[-9Capt]

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes....the baby carriage ? Hmm

...then comes the lawsuits

 

[-9Capt]

AirTran, Frontier form allianceUpdated 11/14/2006 7:42 AM ETE-mail | Save | Print | Reprints & Permissions | Subscribe to stories like this

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swapContent('firstHeader','applyHeader');By Dan Reed, USA TODAY
Two low-cost carriers — AirTran (AAI) and Frontier (FRNT)— will announce on Tuesday a marketing alliance that nearly doubles the destinations each can offer and that will enhance the value of each carrier's frequent-flier program.
The Frontier-AirTran partnership is the first commercial link-up of its kind between next-generation, low-cost carriers; it's an effort to offset the advantage that big, traditional U.S. carriers have in the breadth of domestic service offerings.
AirTran, based in Orlando, focuses primarily on markets east of the Mississippi River, while Denver-based Frontier concentrates on western markets. By linking, in effect, their route systems, both hope to tap into and grow each other's group of loyal travelers.
Executives at both carriers also hope to woo fliers who have remained loyal to the larger airlines. Many such travelers would like to fly on a low-cost carrier, AirTran COO Bob Fornaro says. But until now, they have remained loyal to a major carrier because neither Frontier nor AirTran individually served enough destinations for those travelers to concentrate all their frequent-flier activity into a single carrier's program.
Now, members of Frontier's EarlyReturns program will be able to earn mileage points even when flying on AirTran. And members of AirTran's A+Rewards program — based on the number of flights taken, not miles flown — can chose to earn A+Rewards credits when flying on Frontier. They also can cash in their miles or credits for free trips on either carrier.
John Happ, Frontier's senior vice president of marketing and planning, said that while travelers who live in the Denver and Atlanta areas obviously will benefit from an expanded list of cities served by their locally based low-cost carrier, residents of the central USA might be the greatest beneficiaries.
The Frontier-AirTran partnership will not include a so-called code-sharing deal, allowing one airline to sell seats on a partner airline's flights as if they were its own.
Code sharing began in the 1980s as a way for major airlines to market seats on regional carriers' flights to small and midsize markets. The big carriers could not profitably serve those routes themselves because their costs were too high and their planes too large. In the 1990s, code sharing in the international travel arena became commonplace. And more recently, several major carriers — most notably Delta, Northwest and Continental — have engaged in limited domestic code sharing.
AirTran and Frontier will refer business to one another seamlessly via their websites and telephone call centers. For example, a visitor to Frontier's website asking about a flight to Boston will be electronically referred to AirTran's site, where the transaction can be completed.
"I think both sides will get the same (revenue) benefit without doing a full-blown code share" said Jeff Potter, Frontier's CEO.

 

[Flyer1015]

-9Capt, damn, is that quote true in your signature, the Sr. VP Airtran guy saying that about mediation. True ?!?!

 

[wood pecker]

Can we use buddy/ companion passes on each other?

 

[mnboyev]

Yup.. true... Flyer1015... No love.... fight, fight, fight... I guess it is all they know.... pretty sad.

Lets play nice together for each other's benefit.. respect each others issues and concerns... help to make it better each and every day delivering the best flying experience to smart travelers every day ! Lets be innovative and dedicated.... ( I guess its all bull ) ?

TA... Contract !!!

 

[Flyingdutchman]

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes....the baby carriage ? Hmm

There are going to call their kid Mesa.. Mesa junior will be feeding Frontier and AirTran out of ATL and DEN with their CRJ900's...... I can see it now...

 

[mnboyev]

Lord... I hope not.

 

[-9Capt]

Mesa junior will be feeding Frontier and AirTran out of ATL and DEN with their CRJ900's...... I can see it now...

70 seat max as per our scope section. Not that a little thing like our pilot contract has ever stopped management from doing exactly what they want anyway.