Originally Posted by
zoooropa
Be careful, I think a reduction in Denver service is a certainty (this being aviation nothing is certain). We may keep the GO in Denver but we DEFINITELY will not be operating 85-90% of our block hours out of DIA in the not too distant future.
Franke and Indigo Partners want a minimum margin, and that margin is simply not attainable with a Denver-centric ULCC.
Will Denver be larger than other focus cities? Yes.
Will Denver be as large as it is today in three years? Highly doubtful.
They want to grow the airline but even if they grow at a significant rate they still can't support the negative yield pressure in Denver.
We will see at least one new domicile in the next 24 months and that domicile will be fed with new aircraft along with existing lift that isn't making enough money in Denver.
Bugaboo's post is inaccurate, nearly half of F9 commutes. Denver isn't the holy grail to Frontier pilots.
If you are interviewing at F9 with the intention of being based in Denver you need to reevaluate. Denver will remain but it will be a senior base.
In 2008-2010 during BK and restructuring DEN was the only domicile and the percentage of commuters was much less than is today. There were decisions made by FAPA during that timeframe (without polling/voting of FAPA membership) that absolutely threw the majority of pilots at F9 under the bus....these actions were taken by top percentage pilots who were elected to represent the WHOLE pilot group and what was best for that group. Their actions and decisions at that time represented THEIR best interests as senior pilots who live(d) in the Denver area. This stuck in the craw of many pilots at F9.
Times have changed since and most have put all that behind them and are looking forward to better things going forward....I have. I was just laying out a little bit of F9 history as history seems to repeat itself......especially in this industry.