Frontier returns to Las Vegas with a new look

Tuesday, Dec. 22, 1998 | 11:46 a.m.

Frontier Airlines has returned to McCarran International Airport with a new look.

The Denver-based carrier has built its fleet to 17 Boeing 737 jets since the company pulled out of Las Vegas on Aug. 1, 1997.

And, it has developed a series of connecting flights to the Midwest and the East Coast to give tourists and Las Vegans a new discount option with one-stop service to Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Minneapolis and New York. The company also will have connecting service from Las Vegas to Seattle, Omaha, Neb., and Bloomington-Normal, Ill.

The airline uses Midway Airport in Chicago and LaGuardia Airport in New York.

With the roll-out of Las Vegas and the introduction of new service to Dallas and Atlanta, Frontier will serve 19 cities.

"Over the years, we've become much larger," said Bob Schulman, a spokesman for Frontier. "We've begun feeding customers in from the East Coast."

But while Frontier now has an East Coast presence, a lack of planes and some scheduling quirks permit the airline to schedule one-stop connections from Baltimore and Boston to Las Vegas -- but no way of returning without an overnight stop.

All Las Vegas' Frontier flights are to and from Denver International Airport. Airline spokeswoman Elise Eberwein said one-way fares to Denver will range from $89 to $99.

The fares undercut the ticket prices offered by market leader United Airlines, which has its Shuttle by United flights operating 12 times daily between Las Vegas and Denver. In the wake of Frontier's startup, United matched fares.

The cost of a ticket to Denver had risen to $160 one way. The only competitor challenging United was America West, which offered one late-night flight a day between Denver and Las Vegas.

Travel agents said United was offering fares last week of $77 to $97 for tickets purchased 21 days in advance.

Competitors usually lower prices to match a discount rival. But the Frontier-United rivalry has been particularly fierce, with Frontier accusing United of predatory pricing over the years. The airline said that following the establishment of its fares, United has come back and undercut them, making it impossible for the upstart to compete over the long haul.

United says it is using normal free-enterprise competitive measures.

The result is good for consumers while the fare wars last, but if the upstart airline has to surrender, the established carrier usually comes back with fares that are higher than before.

Frontier says that's what happened in its 1997 pullout from Las Vegas after serving the market since Jan. 1, 1995.

This is the third time an airline with the Frontier name has started Las Vegas service.

The old Frontier began service in early 1968 and flew 2.2 million passengers in and out of Las Vegas in 18 years. Las Vegas eventually became one of the airline's most lucrative destinations.

In its mid-1970s heyday, Frontier served 80 cities in 17 western states, Mexico and Canada. The company hit hard financial times when United expanded in Denver, and Continental Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and slashed fares to compete.

The mood was ugly the first time Frontier pulled out of Las Vegas. The company, which had been purchased by People Express Airlines, went bankrupt and stranded some passengers when it abruptly discontinued service in 1986.

The return in 1995 was marked with the arrival of a new management team and a new aircraft color scheme.

Frontier now has some of the most colorful planes at McCarran. Using a "spirit of the West" motif, each tail section will be decorated with 21-foot decals of wild animals in native habitat, with each side of the tail having a different subject.

The company's planes are configured to hold fewer passengers -- 108 -- than most 737s, offering more leg room for passengers.

Frontier also is participating in the Continental Airlines OnePass Frequent Flyer Program that awards passengers mileage when they fly on any of the 23 partner companies, which include Continental, SkyWest and America West.

Frontier's Las Vegas station will be operated by Bob Knotts, who served as city station manager in the company's last foray into the city.

The publicly held company trades on Nasdaq with the symbol FRNT. The company reported record profits in its fiscal second quarter that ended Sept. 30. Operating revenues increased 51.3 percent to $56.9 million for the quarter.

The company recently rejected a merger proposal from Kansas City, Mo.-based Vanguard Airlines.