Frontier Horizon Boeing 727
Frontier Airlines began life as Monarch Airlines, formed in 1946 with two Douglas DC-3s to fly local routes in Colorado, from its base in Denver. Over the next four years, Monarch took over two other regional airlines, Challenger Airlines and Arizona Airways, and changed its name to Frontier in 1950.
Frontier soon distinguished itself by serving small cities and towns in the Rocky Mountains region, expanding from Billings, Montana in the north to El Paso, Texas in the south. To replace its aging DC-3s, the Convair 340 was ordered in the late 1950s; to extend the life of these aircraft, they were converted to turboprop power as the Convair 580, for which Frontier was the launch customer and one of the largest operators.
In 1968, Frontier acquired its first jets, Boeing 727s, the same year that it bought out Central Airlines, moving Frontier out of the Rocky Mountain West for the first time. The 727s proved inefficient for the small airports Frontier served, and the fleet standardized on the 737, which was better suited.
Frontier gained a reputation for friendliness and closeness to the airports it served, though by 1970, it was second only to Pan American in number of airports served for an American carrier. It also became the first domestic American airline to hire a female pilot.
Deregulation was to hurt Frontier, beginning in 1980: whereas the airline enjoyed a near monopoly on small Western destinations, many of these small towns were not economically viable for business. In the larger towns, Frontier soon faced competition from Continental, United and smaller startup airlines. An effort to expand service to the US East Coast, Mexico and Canada had mixed results, pitting a regional carrier against the bigger national airlines. Frontier employees voluntarily took pay cuts to keep the airline viable, and were not pleased when Frontier launched Frontier Horizon in 1984. This was an effort to create a low-cost airline associated with Frontier that offered nonstop service to the cities of the East and Midwest—a market already dominated by Delta and United. Frontier Horizon only lasted a year before it was shut down.
By 1985, Frontier was in dire straits. In an effort to save it, Frontier was bought by People Express, who intended to keep it a separate entity concentrated in the West, while People Express served the East. This might have worked, if People Express had itself not been bought by Continental in 1986; Continental was buying out several small airlines, and all of them were absorbed into the parent airline. Frontier shut down operations in September 1986.
Frontier’s story was not yet over, however. Continental, itself facing bankruptcy, shut down its Denver operations in 1993 to save money, leaving many Western destinations without service. A group of former Frontier employees began a new Frontier Airlines, also with Boeing 737s. This Frontier began operations in 1994. It soon became known for each one of its aircraft having a unique animal photograph on the tail, each representing an animal of the American West. Frontier transitioned to an all-Airbus A319/320 fleet by 2001, survived a bankruptcy in 2008 and brief ownership by Republic Airways (at the time, part of US Airways) before once more becoming an independent airline. Frontier continues in operation today
This 727, N1973, was one of Frontier Horizon's seven aircraft. While Frontier Horizon retained Frontier's logo and its red/orange cheatline, it used overall bare metal rather than Frontier's white tops. Originally built for American Airlines in 1964, it went to World Airways after its brief service with Frontier Horizon. Later converted to a freighter, it ended its days in an Angolan scrapyard in 2000. I may have flown in this aircraft from Atlanta to Denver in 1983.
Frontier Horizon Boeing 727
Frontier Airlines began life as Monarch Airlines, formed in 1946 with two Douglas DC-3s to fly local routes in Colorado, from its base in Denver. Over the next four years, Monarch took over two other regional airlines, Challenger Airlines and Arizona Airways, and changed its name to Frontier in 1950.
Frontier soon distinguished itself by serving small cities and towns in the Rocky Mountains region, expanding from Billings, Montana in the north to El Paso, Texas in the south. To replace its aging DC-3s, the Convair 340 was ordered in the late 1950s; to extend the life of these aircraft, they were converted to turboprop power as the Convair 580, for which Frontier was the launch customer and one of the largest operators.
In 1968, Frontier acquired its first jets, Boeing 727s, the same year that it bought out Central Airlines, moving Frontier out of the Rocky Mountain West for the first time. The 727s proved inefficient for the small airports Frontier served, and the fleet standardized on the 737, which was better suited.
Frontier gained a reputation for friendliness and closeness to the airports it served, though by 1970, it was second only to Pan American in number of airports served for an American carrier. It also became the first domestic American airline to hire a female pilot.
Deregulation was to hurt Frontier, beginning in 1980: whereas the airline enjoyed a near monopoly on small Western destinations, many of these small towns were not economically viable for business. In the larger towns, Frontier soon faced competition from Continental, United and smaller startup airlines. An effort to expand service to the US East Coast, Mexico and Canada had mixed results, pitting a regional carrier against the bigger national airlines. Frontier employees voluntarily took pay cuts to keep the airline viable, and were not pleased when Frontier launched Frontier Horizon in 1984. This was an effort to create a low-cost airline associated with Frontier that offered nonstop service to the cities of the East and Midwest—a market already dominated by Delta and United. Frontier Horizon only lasted a year before it was shut down.
By 1985, Frontier was in dire straits. In an effort to save it, Frontier was bought by People Express, who intended to keep it a separate entity concentrated in the West, while People Express served the East. This might have worked, if People Express had itself not been bought by Continental in 1986; Continental was buying out several small airlines, and all of them were absorbed into the parent airline. Frontier shut down operations in September 1986.
Frontier’s story was not yet over, however. Continental, itself facing bankruptcy, shut down its Denver operations in 1993 to save money, leaving many Western destinations without service. A group of former Frontier employees began a new Frontier Airlines, also with Boeing 737s. This Frontier began operations in 1994. It soon became known for each one of its aircraft having a unique animal photograph on the tail, each representing an animal of the American West. Frontier transitioned to an all-Airbus A319/320 fleet by 2001, survived a bankruptcy in 2008 and brief ownership by Republic Airways (at the time, part of US Airways) before once more becoming an independent airline. Frontier continues in operation today
This 727, N1973, was one of Frontier Horizon's seven aircraft. While Frontier Horizon retained Frontier's logo and its red/orange cheatline, it used overall bare metal rather than Frontier's white tops. Originally built for American Airlines in 1964, it went to World Airways after its brief service with Frontier Horizon. Later converted to a freighter, it ended its days in an Angolan scrapyard in 2000. I may have flown in this aircraft from Atlanta to Denver in 1983.