Saturday, April 12, 2008

Airlines in trouble 1: Frontier

It's not been a good week for airlines, what with a couple giving up together, and Frontier filing Chapter 11.

Oddly, the filing was prompted because their main credit card processing company had started to withhold funds from customers; presumably, with the airline's share price tanking and the selling-off of planes the credit card business was looking to stock up some dollars to refund anyone caught if the airline went down. Yes, of course, the withholding of funds made it more likely the airline would fall out of business in the first place, but I think we've all learned that banks don't quite know what they're doing any more.

This is the "don't panic" letter Frontier have sent to frequent flying customers:

ear EarlyReturns® Member,

As you may know, Frontier Airlines voluntarily filed to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Frontier is committed to delivering exceptional customer service and we intend to continue delivering on that promise with normal operations throughout our reorganization process. Our 6,000 employees look forward to serving you.

Your travel plans are secure - We are operating our existing schedule of flights - today and in the future - honoring tickets and reservations as usual, and making normal refunds and exchanges. You can count on Frontier, along with our codeshare partners, as we connect you through our Denver hub to 66 destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica.

Your EarlyReturns® miles are secure - Our EarlyReturns® program is unaffected, and you can continue to enjoy the program's benefits, including the opportunity to earn and redeem miles on Frontier and AirTran flights. You can also continue to earn miles using the Frontier World MasterCard®, our new Frontier BusinessCard, or through our many other EarlyReturns® partners. All of our other award-winning customer service programs remain in place.

Frontier took this action following an unexpected attempt by our principal credit card processor to substantially increase a "hold-back" of customer receipts, which threatened to severely impact our liquidity. Frontier will now have the time and legal protection necessary to obtain additional financing and enhance our liquidity. We currently have adequate cash on hand to meet our operating needs while we take steps to further strengthen our company. You can learn more about our reorganization by visiting www.frontierairlines.com/restructure.

We are very proud of Frontier's focus on customer service and safety. Our mainline operation has one of the youngest Airbus fleets in North America and offers 24 channels of DIRECTV® service in every seatback along with a comfortable all coach configuration. Our commitment to safety is proven by our maintenance team's receipt of its unprecedented 9th FAA Diamond Award for safety training of 100% of our maintenance employees. We look forward to providing you with great service in the safest environment for years to come.

All of us on the Frontier team of aviation professionals appreciate your loyalty to our airline and the opportunity to serve you. Thank you for choosing Frontier Airlines.
Sincerely,

Sean Menke
President and CEO

We're only a little alarmed to discover that training all of your engineers in safety is considered worth an award.

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