There could be a snag. Pilots’ unions for Southwest and Frontier airlines have been unable to reach agreement on how they would merge their ranks, an agreement that Southwest wants as part of its pursuit of Frontier, The Associated Press reported.
If Southwest wins the court-supervised competition and takes over Frontier’s operation, including its two daily nonstop flights from Dayton to Denver, Dayton International Airport could ultimately benefit with expanded flight offerings there by Southwest, airline industry consultant Michael Boyd said.
“This could be very positive,” said Boyd, president of Boyd Group Inc. in Evergreen, Colo.
Frontier’s flights from Dayton typically have been 80 percent full, Boyd said. Slightly more than half of those passengers have been traveling to Denver, while the others have been changing planes at Denver to fly elsewhere with Frontier or other carriers.
Dayton airport officials have tried to talk Frontier into adding a third daily flight, said Linda Hughes, a spokeswoman for Dayton International Airport.
“That means that Dayton is putting a lot of people into the Frontier system. And Southwest needs that in Denver,” Boyd said.
If it obtains Frontier, Southwest would stand to gain market share in Denver to get closer to the busiest airline there, United Airlines.
Southwest already flies from Columbus and Indianapolis, but that wouldn’t likely interfere with its serving Dayton, Boyd said.
Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz has noted that his airline serves closely bunched airports in both southern and northern California.
Southwest has improved its cash offer for Frontier to $170 million, up from an initial offer of $113.6 million last week.
Republic Airways, Frontier’s biggest creditor, has bid $108.75 million for Frontier. Republic, based in Indianapolis, is a holding company that owns Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America.
Bids can be modified during the court-supervised auction process, Republic spokesman Carlo Bertolini said.
Frontier, based in Denver, has been operating in reorganization under U.S. Bankruptcy Court protection from creditors since April 2008.
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