Coloradans’ love affair with Frontier Airlines goes beyond the cuddly, talking critters on the tails of planes.
Make no mistake — Larry the Lynx, Flip the Dolphin and Grizwold the Bear loom large in the hearts of the traveling public.
There’s also the individual seatback TVs, customer service, friendly employees, where Frontier flies, wider seats, and yes, even the paint scheme.
Not to mention that Frontier is a homegrown airline, born and based in Denver.
Loyalty inspired by Frontier arose in an outpouring of community affection last month when it appeared Frontier and those animals were threatened with extinction.
“I love the money they put into the economy, love the paint scheme, love the history . . . love it all,” Mark Cunningham of Arvada wrote on the blog when Southwest Airlines made a bid to buy Frontier.
Southwest proposed to fold Frontier into its system, erasing the name and the brand.
“That’s what is most valuable about the franchise,” said Bryan Bedford, chief executive of the successful bidder, Republic Airways Holdings of Indianapolis.
With its name and tail animals intact, Frontier will emerge from bankruptcy about Oct. 1, and many details about what the airline will look like in the future aren’t known.
“For Frontier to maximize on its exit from bankruptcy, the carrier is going to need to build that loyalty in markets other than Denver,” said William Swelbar, a research engineer with the International Center for Air Transportation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The animals and seatback TVs contribute to building the brand, Swelbar said, but it is the “consistent delivery of service that differentiates the Frontier brand.”
Jane Rivera Lopez of Golden has praise for the service that she said she encounters while traveling a lot to teach classes across the country and in Canada.
“They always treat me like a family member and make me feel right at home,” Rivera Lopez said. “The Frontier employees always seem to be happy, outgoing and seem to really enjoy their jobs.”
Dennis Dahill of Arvada also gives credit to Frontier’s service, saying, “From reserving your seat upon booking a flight, to having the choice of DirecTV and snack/meal offerings, (Frontier) is clearly the better choice.”
Airline analyst Mike Boyd, president of Evergreen-based Boyd Group, said there are two reasons why Frontier is special to customers.
“One is the flight attendants are the best in the industry,” Boyd said. “When you get on a Frontier flight, you go back to the 1950s when a flight attendant says she can help you and she does. It’s not like other airlines where you hit the call button and the bulb can burn out before you get attention.”
The other reason “are those cute little animals on their tails,” Boyd said. “How can you hate a little bunny?”
People love Frontier “because I think they have good experiences traveling on them,” said Andrea Shpall, president of Polk Majestic Travel Group in Denver.
Frontier also has been supportive of community events, “and held their own against United and Southwest, and they give people living here a choice,” Shpall said.
Those seatback TVs provide a stress-reducing distraction to the noise of travel, several people said.
“Nothing makes a 3-plus hour flight easier than having a comfortable seat and DirectTV!!” said Jeff Halsey of Denver.
“My 12-year-old likes the TV monitor,” said Susan Legler of Longmont.
Mike Beaver of Nebraska works for an international manufacturing company and travels frequently.
Looking back over recent business trips, Beaver wrote in a letter to the airline that “it dawned on me that every trip I made on Frontier Airlines was so smooth” without a late arrival or lost luggage compared with other airlines.
In a federal report issued last week, Frontier was 14th out of 19 U.S. airlines for on-time arrivals, with 74.7 percent on time compared to the national average of 77.3 percent.
But Frontier scored better in handling luggage, coming in third from the last based on the number of baggage complaints.
As the bankruptcy saga unfolded, Frontier employees took heart in the e-mails, phone calls and letters that came from loyal customers, said airline spokesman Steve Snyder.
The messages were, “Hang in there,” and “We don’t want you to go away,” Snyder said.
“It’s unusual to have an attachment to an airline, since generally, people feel negative about airlines,” Snyder said.
The support expressed by travelers and the community “made an unbelievable difference,” Snyder said. “I’m not sure we would have made it without that support.”
Ann Schrader: 303-954-1967 or aschrader@denverpost.com
