DENVER (Nov. 19, 2004) - Denver's hometown airline, Frontier (Nasdaq:
FRNT), continues its 10-year legacy as a community leader by officially partnering
with three much-loved local charities: Volunteers of America (VOA), the Colorado
Make-a-Wish Foundation, and Children's Hospital. The airline kicks off the partnerships
today with an all-day, 100-employee volunteer event, as Frontier repairs, restocks,
cleans, and decorates three Denver VOA shelters and provides Thanksgiving dinner
for their 200 residents.
Through all three partnerships, Frontier will put its product - airline seats
- to use for the Denver community's benefit. Specifically, for Make-a-Wish:
- Frontier will fly children to their "wish" destination, with family
members in tow. The number one destination just happens to be Disney World
in Orlando, with Legoland in San Diego coming in a close second. To support
their travel, Frontier has assigned several of its DIA Scouts group (passenger
assistance experts), to the Make-A-Wish travelers to ensure that their trip
goes smoothly from start to finish by providing a dedicated escort through
the airport process.
- Make-A-Wish will become part of Frontier's "Miles-4-Smiles" program,
which allows passengers to donate frequent flyer miles to the Make-A-Wish
organization.
- Frontier will provide advertising and promotional space to Make-A-Wish through
its inflight DIRECTV programming and Wild Blue Yonder magazine.
- Frontier will sponsor the wish child's "travel pack," a co-branded
backpack with contents that will help them on their journey, such as coloring
books, suntan lotion, sunglasses, etc., to be donated and packed by Frontier
employees.
- Frontier president and CEO, Jeff Potter's wife, Kelly Potter, will serve
on Make-A-Wish's board of directors.
The airline's VOA partnership includes:
- Sponsorship of VOA's famous Meals-On-Wheels program including Frontier branded
Meals-On-Wheels vans.
- 65 round-trip tickets to be used for fundraisers and to support administrative
travel needs.
- On-going sponsorship of one of the most visible charity events in Denver,
VOA's Western Fantasy.
- Joint development of a unique, new volunteer program for high school students
and youth groups encouraging youth volunteerism by allowing them to earn Frontier
discounts through volunteer time. Students can earn up to a $100 discount
on Frontier tickets by applying an hourly "volunteer wage" of $13
per hour to the discount.
- VOA will become part of Frontier's "Miles-4-Smiles" program.
For Children's Hospital, Frontier will:
- Bring travel to Children's Hospital, courtesy of a generous annual account
used to fly patients, families and staff for medical treatments.
- Provide 30 round-trip tickets to be used for special events during the first
year of the agreement.
- Children's Hospital will become part of Frontier's "Miles-4-Smiles"
program.
When Frontier began its quest to refocus its community relations efforts, the
Company asked its employees not only which charities it should support, but
also how to get employees more engaged in volunteerism. Employees told the Company
that if it could provide specific "one-time" opportunities, posted
on the Company's Intranet and managed by the Company's community relations team,
they would be more likely to find the time to volunteer. As a result, Frontier
has requested that each of its partners provide a monthly volunteer opportunity
that Frontier will coordinate with employees and their families. For example,
one month Frontier employees might have the opportunity to volunteer with the
wish-granting team for Make-a-Wish, or there might be an opportunity in December
for Christmas caroling at Children's Hospital. And, of course, employees can
always sign up for a Meals-On-Wheels route through VOA.
"Frontier has been involved with this community from day one, and a philosophy
of charitable giving and volunteerism has always permeated the culture at Frontier,"
said Potter. "Today, we are very proud to renew our commitment to the non-profit
sector by partnering with three leading charitable organizations who share our
vision for a better, stronger community. And for all that we might bring to
these organizations through tickets and on-going support, I am confident that
the opportunity they provide Frontier and our employees to volunteer and to
support our fellow human beings, is of far greater value. VOA, Make-A-Wish and
Children's Hospital offer us an opportunity to give back to the community that
has helped us remain strong since 1994 and, today, we're extremely proud to
link Frontier's name to theirs."
About Frontier
Currently in its 11th year of operations, Denver-based Frontier Airlines is
the second largest jet service carrier at Denver International Airport with
a fleet of 47 aircraft and employing approximately 4,500 aviation professionals.
Frontier, in conjunction with Frontier JetExpress operated by Horizon Air, operates
routes linking our Denver hub to 44 destinations in 25 states spanning the nation
from coast-to-coast and to five cities in Mexico. Frontier's maintenance and
engineering department has received the Federal Aviation Administration's highest
award, the Diamond Certificate of Excellence, in recognition of 100 percent
of its maintenance and engineering employees completing advanced aircraft maintenance
training programs, for five consecutive years. In July 2004, Frontier ranked
as one of the "Top 10 Domestic Airlines" as determined by readers
of Travel + Leisure magazine. Frontier provides capacity information
and other operating statistics on its Web site, which may be viewed at www.frontierairlines.com.
