Frontier Airlines has a sharp eye on its next frontier – and it could be Canada.
The carrier’s only international flights go to Mexico, but as part of its search for places to expand, it is looking to the northern border.
“We’re really interested in going into Canada at some point,” Frontier chief executive Jeff Potter said Thursday. “We have been researching certain markets in Canada for quite a while.
“If it’s the next best idea, we’ll get there sooner rather than later.”
Frontier started flying to the Mexican cities of Cancún and Mazatlán in 2002. By the end of this year, it will serve seven cities in Mexico.
For the most part, Frontier considers those routes successful. Hurricane Wilma caused canceled flights to Cancún and disruptions in service that could cost the company $2 million.
“We didn’t anticipate that right hook coming,” Potter said.
On Saturday, Frontier resumed some scheduled flights to Cancún for the first time since Hurricane Wilma struck the area in October. The airline began with Wednesday and Saturday flights and will gradually increase to daily service by Nov. 19. Not all flights will be resumed.
Frontier also plans to start flights to Cancún from Indianapolis in March 2006, after receiving approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Starting flights to Canada could step up Frontier’s competition against bigger rivals like United Airlines, which prides itself on its worldwide network, including Canada.
United flies to Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton and Winnipeg from Denver. Air Canada flies to Toronto from Denver.
“At this point, we feel we have the best service to Canada,” said Robin Urbanski, a spokeswoman for United Airlines. “We welcome competition. It keeps us on our toes.”
She said United is considering replacing the smaller regional jets on routes to Canada with with 70-seat jets.
Separately, Frontier touted its on-time arrival performance reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Frontier was ranked No. 2 for on-time arrival rates in September among 20 carriers reporting data, and first among carriers at the 33 largest airports in the nation in the month. “On-time arrival” means arriving less than 15 minutes after the scheduled time.
Denver International Airport was ranked No. 1 among major airports in on-time arrivals in September, with 89.1 percent of flights on-time.
Separately, United Airlines said the bankruptcy court issued an order ending its pilots’ pension plan as of Dec. 30.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-820-1488 or kyamanouchi@ denverpost.com.
