Frontier Airlines has once again admitted defeat in California.
The Denver-based carrier will stop flying between Los Angeles and San Francisco effective July 10, just over a year after starting the service. It also will stop flying its route between San Francisco and Las Vegas at the same time.
The California route was another attempt by Frontier to expand beyond flights that go to or from Denver or Mexico.
“We’re just not getting the traction,” Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas said. “We are smart enough and nimble enough not to lose money long term on a route just because of a pride issue.”
Frontier’s relatively small presence in California and the high expense of advertising in Los Angeles and San Francisco made it hard to compete with bigger national carriers for the attention of travelers in those cities. The airline tried creative marketing efforts, but “it’s really tough in a market like San Francisco or Los Angeles to get yourself noticed,” Hodas said.
It is Frontier’s second failed attempt in California.
In early 2005, Frontier pulled out of a Los Angeles “focus city” effort it started in 2004 with flights from Los Angeles to Minneapolis, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Kansas City, Mo. Heightened competition made it tough for Frontier to get customers, and flights ultimately flew with too many empty seats.
The Los Angeles-San Francisco route was supposed to be different, but there have been indications of problems.
Earlier this year, Frontier downgraded its service, offering fewer flights a day, with some on regional jets operated by Republic Airlines. Those regional jets are smaller than the Airbus jets that Frontier had been using on the route.
Chief executive Jeff Potter has said the route has been slow.
Better use of assets
Frontier thinks it can better use those regional jets on other routes. Increased rent costs of operating in Los Angeles also were a factor, Hodas said.
More than 20 employees in Los Angeles and San Francisco combined will be affected by the ending of the flights, but Frontier will retain a presence in both cities with flights to Denver, and from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Frontier’s stretch into markets beyond Denver is seen as a way to move past direct competition with Southwest Airlines in Denver.
When starting the service, Frontier said that it would be the only low-cost carrier flying nonstop between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
It also said that the San Francisco market was underserved by low-cost carriers because those airlines often use smaller airports around San Francisco and Los Angeles. Things changed in February when Southwest announced that it will begin flying into San Francisco. Startup Virgin America also plans to operate out of San Francisco.
Hodas didn’t rule out a future move into the market.
“Who knows, if the opportunity is right?” he said.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-954-1488 or kyamanouchi@ denverpost.com.
