We thought since Frontier Airlines loved animals—they’ve got all those critters painted on their tail fins—they would be the last ones to have a bird encounter. However, that’s not the case, as a flight headed to Denver over the weekend had to make an emergency landing in Kansas City after running into a flock of feathered friends on takeoff. ]]>
Frontier Airlines, having recently been acquired by Republic Airways, is wasting no time making their new owners some money. The airline is adjusting their baggage fees upwards and will now charge even for the first checked bag.
We're actually kind of pleased that we get to write this story; it's been a few hours since we posted about an airline raising its fees, and we were starting to get a little anxious: ]]>
Apparently we now have an answer to that question about whether people are flying more because of cheap airfare. Not so much, no:
U.S. airlines served 282 million passengers in the first five months of this year, a 9.5-percent decrease on a year-on-year basis, U.S. business news outlets reported Friday. Figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics also show that, in the current economic downturn, nearly all U.S. airlines, except Southwest Airlines and US Airways, suffered steep drops in the number of passengers during the period.
Major airlines were hit much harder than LCC's, with Northwest Airlines leading the decline by posting a -20.2% plastering. Southwest served the most passengers, but even they took a 5.3% hit.]]>
Have you got a spare $108 million dollars burning a hole in your pocket, just itching to purchase a bankrupt airline? Well, too bad you missed your chance; yesterday saw the sale of ailing Frontier Airlines to Republic Airways.
And now you ask: "Who/what/where is this 'Republic Airways?!?!'" We know, it's a surprise victor since Southwest was clearly the favorite and even bid $170 million to Republic's measly $108. Airline dorks who love this sort of drama—ok, ourselves—know Republic as the company behind airline brand extensions to smaller, regional service; they specifically run AmericanConnection, Continental Express, Delta Connection, Midwest Connection, United Express and US Airways Express. ]]>
The bad news? Frontier Airlines is bankrupt! (Actually, they have been since April 2008.) The good news? Southwest is looking to buy the ailing airline next month in bankruptcy court for a minimum bid of $113 million.
Southwest has posted a Q&A with Ron Ricks, Executive Vice President Corporate Services and Corporate Secretary on their blog. Some highlights?
Southwest is still preparing the [bidding] proposal, so it's premature to comment on the specifics at this time. What we can say is that we are interested in a substantial investment in Frontier and to operate Frontier as a wholly-owned subsidiary, independently and separately from Southwest Airlines, for a period of time until the carrier could be combined into Southwest.
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Alright, so you just decided that you want to watch your hometown team battle it out in this year’s Super Bowl. Congratulations, since we’ll assume you just won the lottery. If not, be prepared to pay.
For Cardinal fans, your best bet is to leave this Thursday and return to the Valley of the Sun on the Tuesday after the game. Obviously this will increase the hotel budget, but the flight will only set you back $259 on Frontier. The more traditional Friday to Monday schedule is going to cost you at least $966 on US Airways, but at least the flight to Tampa is non-stop!
For those in the Steeler Nation, things are a little easier on the wallet. Again the extra long weekend plan of Thursday to Tuesday comes out as the best deal--only $280 on Delta. Friday to Monday is looking at a cool $578 on Southwest, and you’re return (party?) flight will be non-stop into Pittsburgh.
If you’re still on the fence about going, make a decision already--the fares may already be outrageous, but that doesn’t mean the seats won’t fill up. Oh, and if your wallet still isn't bleeding, find a place to stay over at Hotelchatter. [Photo: NFL]
Related Stories:
·Super Bowl XLIII [Official Site]
·The Super Bowl Party Scene: Now With Fewer Parties [Jaunted]
·Super Bowl Travel coverage [Jaunted] ]]>
We've always found rounding up air fare sales to be a rather hard service to do. Namely because so many people want to go so many destinations from so many places but only at certain prices. It would be akin to following the children, homes and vacations of Brangelina--but then trying to put limits on how much they can spend or how many children they can adopt.
Still, we don't want to deprive you of a chance to learn about a good fare to a cool destination that we've been talking about. So once a week, we're going to tell you how much it costs to get to a few places we have had our eyes on. These are the Five Air Sales We Like Right Now. Any tips on what you want to see more of or less of? Let us know. We're much nicer than Air India.]]>