Frontline: Flying Cheap

I saw an internet advertisement for this program last week and it piqued my interest enough to add it to my ever growing library of DVR recordings. Like most Frontline pieces it tended to lean a little to the “left”, but that is a different discussion, for a different day, on a different blog. Nevertheless, I think the piece was mostly well done and raised a number of valid questions, but at the end of the day, as long as there is a “sort by price” filter on ticketing websites, this is all just rhetoric.


Let’s set one thing straight right off the bat, the flying public does not care what a first year co-pilot makes at a regional airline, period. Similarly, they do not care what Wal-Mart employees make or what they receive in way of benefits as long as they can still get their “roll-back” specials on the 20 dollar microwave they covet. Do those pilots deserve to be paid better? Absolutely they do. However, it’s not a matter of what anyone deserves; it’s a matter of what you can negotiate. As long as labor unions are content with allocating the lion’s share of the pool of money dedicated to pay towards the more senior component of their membership, they have no room to complain in my mind. As long as there are pilots willing to work for near poverty wages, there will be unions and companies that are willing to oblige.

The cause of the accident in Buffalo last year was pilot error. There were no maintenance issues with the aircraft and icing was not a factor. The pay rates of the pilots were not a factor. Their schedule from all accounts was not overwhelming and if fatigue was a factor, (we will never know) it was pilot induced due to commuting. I do not believe that Colgan or any other regional airline willfully disregards safety as the producers and several of the interviewees suggest. I believe that Colgan is only culpable in two areas, hiring and training. I think they should have done better due diligence in hiring the Captain who it was reported had numerous check ride failures over his career. Additionally, the actions of the pilots in the incident were the exact opposite of what they should have done in the recovery which is taught in even the most basic of aviation practices.

The industry is not to blame. They created a model that enabled them to move many people to many places for the cheapest price. The transportation industry has always had this problem. People have always wanted to get from point A to point B in the quickest and cheapest mode possible. Walking was replaced with horses, which was then replaced by boats when it was learned that horses couldn’t swim. Horse drawn carriages were replaced by railroads. Airplanes replaced boats and trains for long distance travel. The automobile became the main mode of transportation for people over short distances as it gave them unparalleled freedom and did not tie them down to preset schedules or connections and was cheaper. It then became cheaper to fly than to drive even over short distances. Wealthy people started buying their own airplanes and spending their money with fractional operators instead of flying commercially. The transportation industry continues to evolve. What will the next innovation be that completely renders the commercial aviation industry as we know it obsolete?

What does this have to do with Frontier Airlines you ask? The answer may very well be that the powers that be are sensing that things are changing and they have to position themselves to be one of the carriers that are the catalyst for the evolution instead of one of the ones that inevitably gets left behind. I am cautiously optimistic in my opinion on whether or not this team can pull it off. And as long as I am here for the ride, I hope it works out for the best. Just try not to alienate the employees in the process because they will be the ones that have to execute the vision.

Eat Mor Chikin!

It looks like we did not have to wait long from the last entry for the news storm to hit.  Several big announcements were unloaded on Thursday and the ripple effects were felt all across the company.  Obviously the biggest announcement was the forthcoming shutdown of Lynx Aviation beginning in April and concluding in September.  A prepared announcement was read to employees at Lynx headquarters by Cam Kenyon and also webcast for all employees. It was very touching to hear the emotion in Cam's voice and good to see that he genuinely cares for his employees.  With RAH, this is becoming more the exception than the rule.  Penny Parker from the Denver Post even picked up on this story in her column:

"Meanwhile at Lynx's Westminster headquarters, employees gathered in a room where Cameron Kenyon, Lynx's interim president, read a prepared statement.
Wayne Heller, Republic Airways' chief operating officer, was spotted "chomping on his chewing gum the whole time. I don't think he looked anyone in the eye," my spy said."

I can just see it now, Wayne Heller smacking on his gum, resisting the urge to blow bubbles, longing to leave so he can make his flight back to Indy for a Chick-Fil-A sandwich and day dreaming about waffle fries. Apparently his love for Chick-Fil-A is legendary according to the Indianapolis circuit of RAH.

I feel terrible for the Lynx employees.  While it may be argued that the Frontier employees were not given a fair shake in their relocation announcement/timeframe, they were at least given something.  They had the option of keeping their current jobs at their current pay.  Why are the Lynx employees not getting this same or a similar offer? There are plenty of positions that Frontier employees did not accept that would be perfect for Lynx employees who may wish to relocate to Indianapolis.  I guess they will just have to apply and be invited to a "preferential interview". 

Another classy move by RAH in giving the Lynx employees almost exactly the minimum 60 days notice as required by the WARN Act before throwing them out on the street.  I wish the Lynx employees the best of luck in their "preferential interviews". I realize that Brian Bedford stated from the beginning that it would be hard to justify an 11 aircraft fleet, but 60 days notice is ridiculous and a slap in the face of many employees who worked 60 hour weeks starting up Lynx and making it a top notch airline. 

Not all of the news Thursday was negative. Seven new cities and frequency increases to several other cities were announced.  New service  includes new nonstop service to Branson MO. Grand Rapids MI, Long Beach CA, Madison WI, Newport News VA, Santa Barbara CA, and seasonal nonstop service to Green Bay WI.  Frequency increases included a third daily flight to LaGuardia, and a fifth daily flight to Portland, OR, San Francisco, and Seattle. Most of the new service will be with Republic E-190 equipment.

It appears that the plan is to grow "away" from Southwest and in some cases even United.  Also interesting to note is that there were no announcements concerning growth in Milwaukee.  I suppose this confirms the theory that the Milwaukee market is severely under-performing. I would not be surprised if some of the Airbus that have been deployed to MKE are re-deployed back to Denver in time for the summer.

I also heard that Frontier's advertising agency Sticky Grey was turned loose this week.  I have not seen any announcements confirming this, but if it is true, it's very disheartening. For eight years, Grey has created an award winning advertising program that is truly loved in Denver and known nationally.  If this turns out to be confirmed, it is my opinion that this is the death blow for the Frontier brand, and may actually be the first step in the branding and marketing decisions that are due to be announced in the near future.

I can't wait to see which road Mr. Bedford decides to go down next.

The Calm Before the Storm

It has been awhile since my last post.  There has not been much to talk about lately that has not already been said.  The news out of Indy has been sparse with even the last two weekly updates from Mr. Bedford being mundane at best.  What RAH has shown us is that we can expect periods of "inactivity" followed by an "onslaught" of news.  I fear we are in that lull now and come March 1, we will see a lot of announcements.

Most of the RAH leadership was in Denver over the past couple of weeks (touring the wreckage) and the most notable of those visits was the Station Manager meeting with Wayne Heller.  From what I understand, not much in the way of breaking news was announced, but one tidbit regarding LiveTV was discussed at length.  RAH will not be putting the LiveTV product in the Embraer aircraft due to the increased weight on the already notorious weight restricted aircraft.  It was also noted that the company cannot continue to sell the public false goods by allowing customers to pre-purchase LiveTV in a Classic or Classic-Plus package and not deliver on the E-190 flights.  I think this spells doom for the LiveTV product on all Frontier flights.  It is my belief that this will be amongst the announcements regarding the future of the brand.  He also addressed the possibility of introducing WiFi as new Inflight Entertainment.

Still no word on the payscales for the Customer Service division and knowing RAH, no word will come anytime soon.  I think they will keep dragging this out as long as they can until they can no longer hold off the angry masses at DIA. 

I hope to have a lot more to talk about in the upcoming days and weeks, please stay tuned!