Southwest to Bid for Frontier

Leading no-frills, low-fare carrier to bid for Denver-based Frontier. Keep fingers crossed

Frontier Airlines is in bankruptcy protection right now. Republic Airways Holdings seemed poised to take over the Denver-based carrier, its convenient A-Gates at Denver International Airport and, hopefully, bring it out of bankputcy while retaining Coloradans loyalty for this home-grown carrier. A just just-released news from Southwest Airlines indicates that it too is now in the running. Republic indicated that it planned to operate Frontier independently. Whether Southwest would do so is an unknown, but its track record is fantastic. In the best of all worlds as I see it, Southwest's bid would be successful, and that company would run Frontier but under its original colors and with those clever "spokesanimals" on the tail.

Below Southwest's just-out press release as it relates to customers, with the section for the investment/financial community deleted:

Title: Southwest Airlines Developing Bid Proposal in Frontier Airlines Bankruptcy Court Proceeding
Date: 7/30/2009 1:20:00 PM

Low-Fare Carrier Seeks to Acquire Frontier Airlines

Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV)
confirmed today that the carrier is preparing a bid to acquire Denver-based
Frontier Airlines, which will be sold at auction in bankruptcy court next
month. The carrier has submitted a nonbinding proposal in accordance with the
bidding procedures established in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern
District of New York. The bid is worth a minimum of $113.6 million, which is
in excess of the bid currently filed by Republic Airways.

Submission of a nonbinding proposal gives Southwest an opportunity to
engage with Frontier in the due diligence required to determine the scope of a
binding proposal to be submitted by the court's Aug. 10, 2009, deadline.

"We are excited about the opportunity to submit a bid," said Gary Kelly,
Southwest's Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO. "We see a strong fit
between our Company cultures, a mutual commitment to high quality Customer
Service, and similar entrepreneurial roots."

A successful acquisition of Frontier Airlines will allow Southwest to
expand its network with its legendary low fares, add jobs into Southwest, and
boost competition in Denver and other cities. Southwest is a qualified
investor and is still preparing its proposal; therefore, it is premature to
comment on the specifics at this point.

To view a Q&A with a Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President Corporate
Services and Corporate Secretary Ron Ricks, please visit:
http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/southwest-bids-frontier-airlines.

Frontier filed for bankruptcy court protection in April 2008. On June 22,
2009, Republic Airways submitted a bid to purchase Frontier for $108.8
million.

After 38 years of service, Southwest Airlines offers a reliable product
with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the most productive
airline in the sky and offers Customers a comfortable traveling experience
with all premium leather seats and plenty of legroom. Southwest recently
updated its gate areas and improved its boarding procedure to make flying
Southwest Airlines even more convenient and simple. Southwest Airlines
currently serves 66 cities in 33 states, and announced service to Boston
Logan, which begins Aug. 16, 2009, and to Milwaukee, which begins Nov. 1,
2009. Southwest currently operates more than 3,300 flights a day and has more
than 35,000 Employees systemwide.