"Frontier flies record share of DIA users"

Thursday, August 7, 2003

Frontier flies record share of DIA users
Figures underscore airline's demand for more Denver gates
By David Kesmodel
The Denver (CO) Rocky Mountain News


Frontier Airlines' market share at its Denver International Airport hub rose
to a record 13.9 percent in June, DIA statistics show.

The growth comes as Denver- based Frontier threatens to expand elsewhere if
DIA can't meet its demand soon for more gates.

The figure points up the challenge Denver officials face in the coming
weeks: to accommodate the fast- growing, homegrown Frontier but also satisfy
DIA's dominant carrier, bankrupt United, as Denver negotiates a revised
lease with United.

Chicago-based United wants a $50 million upgrade to its Concourse B
commuter-jet facility, but Denver is expected to insist that United give up
some of its eight Concourse A gates to Frontier before agreeing to the
upgrade.

"Competition is good for the city, but you want to make sure United has
everything it needs to survive and that Frontier has gates it needs in order
to thrive," said Joshua Marks, associate director of the George Washington
University Aviation Institute.

Including operations by Frontier's commuter affiliate, Mesa, which flies as
Frontier JetExpress, Frontier's share of paying passengers at DIA hit 14.9
percent in June.

In the same period a year earlier, the figure was 10.7 percent. In May of
this year, it was 14.4 percent, with 13.4 percent for Frontier alone.

Frontier filled 75.6 percent of its seats in June. That was a company record
until last month, when it filled 80.1 percent.

United's market share fell to 51.7 percent in June, from 53.8 percent in May
and 55.2 percent in June 2002. Including flights by United's commuter
partners, which fly as United Express, United's share fell to 59.8 percent
in June, from 62 percent in May and 62.9 percent in June 2002.

DIA said total June traffic rose 1 percent to 3.4 million passengers from a
year earlier.

United and Denver officials discussed United's lease Monday and said talks
will resume soon. United has until Dec. 15 to renegotiate airport leases.

Last week, financial consultants told Denver that DIA likely would not be
able to finance proposed expansions for both its top carriers without a
bond-rating downgrade. Besides the United commuter-pad upgrade, Denver is
weighing a $300 million, 16-gate Concourse A expansion largely benefiting
Frontier.

Frontier leases 10 gates on A and often borrows another four. United has 43
gates on B and eight on A.

Frontier argues that United does not use the A gates enough to justify
retaining them. To meet mandates of its DIA lease, United need only average
three flights a day per gate for all its 51 mainline gates.

"They're just dragging their feet to keep their minimum utilization,"
Michael Meyers, a Frontier duty manager, said from atop Frontier's control
tower Wednesday, pointing to United's A gates.

A United spokesman declined to comment.

Frontier says it operates an average of 9.6 daily flights per leased gate
overall and United operates an average of 6.7. These figures include
regional-jet operations.

DIA said it can't verify Frontier's data or accurately break out an
airline's gate usage for different parts of the airport.

DIA said United Express carrier Air Wisconsin, which uses United's eight A
gates, had 45 flights a day in June. That would mean 5.6 a day per gate, but
Air Wisconsin also operated an unknown number of the flights from United
gates on B, which would lower the average, DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon said.

Frontier, excluding Frontier JetExpress, averaged 83 flights a day in June.
For its 10 leased gates, that's an 8.3 average. However, it launched an
unknown number of flights from borrowed gates, Cannon said.

Delta and Continental, meanwhile, had firm averages of 5.25 and 4.33,
respectively, Cannon said.

What's clear, Frontier says, is that it can't operate efficiently at DIA
because of its gate shortage.

At times, arriving jets must wait on the tarmac for 30 minutes because no
gate is available, pilot Jack Todoverto said. "If there's a (weather-related
or other) slowdown anyplace, your gate is going to be occupied, and if you
come in on time, you have to wait," said Todoverto, president of Frontier's
pilots union. "It makes it inconvenient for the traveling public."


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