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FRONTIER NEWS

SPRING APRIL 2024 #95

A newsletter for the employees, families and friends of the Old Frontier Airlines

FL@SHIPROCK

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The spectacular painting on the cover is by flight atten-

dant Patty Giordano Benton. I was so impressed by her

painting GOODBYE, FRONTIER that I used it on the

DEN crew scheduler Spence Rice on page 9. He helped

get the Frontier plaque placed at Stapleton in the late

1980s which was later moved to DIA. The plaque’s pic is

on the back of the t-shirt. I bought some and the quality is

very good. He’s selling them at cost.

We lost our website for about a month. See story on

page 15. Quite an ordeal - nearly 27 years work lost.

At some point, probably sooner than later, I’m gonna get

last call for that flight west that we all eventually take. If

there is someone out there younger than me (81) who

1986 and was “buried” on May 31, 1990.

It is a non-profit operation. All income goes into keep-

ing the NEWS going. Opinions expressed in this newslet-

ter are those of the author and not the editor or the

publication. Publishing dates are October for Fall, January

for Winter, April for Spring and July for Summer.

Articles and photos are welcomed and subject to editing

and space requirements. We cannot pay for such items

but will give credit as appropriate. All submissions

should deal with the “old” Frontier Airlines.

and so forth. They will be published in the “Timetable”.

The Frontier News newsletter will no longer be printed

and mailed. Hard copies are not available but you may

print your own from the digital post.

The digital editions are posted at our website:

http://OldFrontierAirlines.com.

Visit the Frontier website and check out our page

at FLacebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/172416905475

MASTHEAD

JAKE LAMKINS

Editor - Publisher

1202 Scrimshaw Cove #4

Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701

Reunions.......................................................

FLights West.................................................

Plaque T-shirts...............................................

Notes From FLolks........................................

Missing Website............................................

ALPA & ALEA.............................................

AFA Strike....................................................

Chronology 1983-1985..................................

Double Awards..............................................

January 1980.................................................

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REUNION NEWS

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MORE FLOWN WEST

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MORE FLOWN WEST

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MORE FLOWN WEST

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MORE FLOWN WEST

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Plaque & T-Shirts

up with something much nicer and in a better location! The old Frontier was what made Denver aviation great!

-Scott Kendell, son of pilot Al Kendell (http://FAL-1.tripod.com/Al_Kendell.html)

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ALPA & ALEA & AFA

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ALPA & ALEA & AFA

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By Dr. M. B. Wigderson, Senior Staff Vice President

(The Air Line Employee, Nov/Dec 1977, Pages 8-9-10)

We were brought into this world as the brainchild of

ALPA’s first president, Dave Behncke, who headed the

pilots for their first 20 years. He felt it imperative that

back seat with their problems . . . and you can imagine the

attention such a minority receives at a Convention!

ALEA has but one concern, the growth and development

of our membership’s interests as air line employees . . . we

Negotiating—a team effort

The negotiating process on ALEA represented airlines is

basically a “team” effort. The members who serve as the

basic negotiating committee are employees of a particular

airline in the various departments of that airline. They

know and are familiar with all the details and operations

concerning their phase of the activity.

they can send in their “first team” . . . not some politically

motivated or glamor type! The ALEA home office then

adds to the elected committee other teammates who are

highly skilled professional and experienced negotiators . .

. and now we have a full team that is able to cope with

company committees similarly hand picked by top man-

agement. Our most successful teams are a carefully se-

lected, skillful blend of employees with local knowledge

of how that airline operates and all the problems which

must be faced . . . and trained, experienced negotiators

through the Home Office staff so as to make continuity

available to the greatest degree throughout all of the

agreements.

ALEA—tops in its field

ALEA has introduced many innovations which have

earned respect throughout the industry . . . to the degree of

being recognized by the Department of Labor as the

“leader” in our field. In purely economic areas, some of

these breakthroughs have been shift premiums, paid meal

periods, better vacation schedules, more holidays, better

have consistently established the standards of pay rates

ALEA HISTORY

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for our Class or Craft throughout the industry. North

Central since its first agreement has accomplished wage

increases of 625%, averaging of 25% per year for the

twenty-five year period!

take home pay! In other areas we have developed the

permanent and rotating panel of arbitrators in the settle-

ment of grievances. On National Airlines we innovated

the Labor Peace Plan which provides for the arbitration of

limited issues in major disputes (contract negotiations)

under the auspices of the National Mediation Board.

Our most recent innovation is the option of semi-

Two “rocky” stretches

strikes. We have had some half dozen strikes in our

history, and only two of them were lengthy. In 1970 we

had a strike on National Airlines of some four months

duration which was settled in Washington under the aus-

pices of the Secretary of Labor and his assistant, William

Usury. The company trumpeted that ALEA lost this strike

. . . but their 9% three-year proposal compared with our

33% settlement tells a much different story! In 1974-75 a

four-month strike was imposed on us by TI management

which refused to negotiate in good faith, even to the point

union but failed because they underestimated the ALEA

team!

Our strength lies in our professional know-how. We

resort to economic warfare only when there is no other

means to resolve a major dispute. We are always fair but

firm in our resolve to negotiate an honorable, fair, and just

agreement. After the prolonged strikes at NA and TI, both

companies have made public statements that it was a long

struggle to get the passengers back on their airlines. We

developed a “Work Perfection Program” as a less disaster-

and productivity.

We have also withstood “raids” by other unions. They

come on strong with golden promises of “pie-in-the sky,”

and how they would do better than ALEA if the employee

Braniff (IBT) or Northwest (BRC) to confirm that the

ALEA team has always done better! It has been theorized

that the raids may have been instigated or encouraged by

the airline in the belief that they would weaken the unity

of the employees.

There is also the factor of a small but loud minority of

dissidents who for personal aggrandizement or seeking

power they cannot gain in a democratic organization like

ALEA, lend aid and comfort to the raiding union. The

same individuals frequently attempt to discredit all of the

has developed better communications between manage-

ment and our membership at all levels.

ALEA HISTORY

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FLacebook posts re FL/AFA Negotiations 1984 with

telegram about the strike.

ALEA contract negotiations a month or so before and

A BITTER YEAR

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1984 Dec. A coalition of Frontier employees offers $220.4 million to buy the airline

1984 12/15 FL Services start bus shuttle service to Keystone, Vail, Copper Mountain, Breckinridge & Winter Park, to run

1985 1/1 FH goes DEN-TPA & MCO

1985 1/15 FL Commuter ceases operations after opposition from the Employee Coalition

1985 3/2 Frontier reports $31.1M loss for 1984

1985 4/1 FL Horizon ceases operations after opposition from the Employee Coalition - consolidated back into FL

1985 4/1 FL DEN-IAD service started, replacing dropped FH service

1985 Apr. The airline lays off 200 more employees. Texas Air Corp. makes a $185 million bid for Frontier. The bid is re

1985 10/8 Frontier Holdings approves sale to People Express at $24 per share - $298M

THAT GOT WORSE

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Dorothy Seamster Johnson is the only known winner of two Frontier Presidential Awards and she won them for two

actions in 1976, four months apart. She had a flight attendant seniority date of 3/17/73 per the Feb 1981 flight attendant

seniority list. She is not on the Feb 1986 seniority list. So she left the company sometime between Feb 1981 and Feb

1986. I have been unable to find any more information on her.

Jeff Hutchinson, the LAW station agent, whose life was saved by Dorothy and Valerie (See next page) went on to win

a Presidential Award himself for his actions on March 30, 1981 after the crash of a U.S. Army U-21 aircraft at the Law-

ton airport. According to Glen Ryland, “Hutchinson entered the burning aircraft and saved the lives of two officers who

were trapped inside. With total disregard for his own safety and under extremely dangerous conditions, Hutchinson’s

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QUICK RESPONSE in a critical situation earned Dallas/Ft. Worth-based Flight Attendants Dorothy (Seamster)

Johnson (left) and Valerie Hague a Presidential Award and the congratulations of Al Feldman in February. Dorothy and

Valerie were working different flights on the ground in Lawton on Dec. 17 when Senior Agent Jeff Hutchinson suffered

a seizure on the ramp. Sizing up the situation, they immediately deplaned to administer oxygen and other first aid

techniques until the ambulance arrived.

Lawton Sales/Service Manager Larry Baumgartner and Capt Sam Scott (piloting Dorothy’s flight) commended the

flight attendants’ fast thinking in the incident. Added Mr. Feldman, “You both can be credited with saving this agent’s

life through your competent reaction and knowledge of emergency procedures.”

This is the second Presidential Award for Dorothy, who shares 20 years of flying experience with Valerie.

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1970. By 1972 the Feldman-Ryland team had wiped out a

ports in 26 states, plus three terminals in Mexico and two

in Canada.

“But we are still a regional airline.” Ryland told the

the hub and with our non-stop and multi-stop routes

fanning out to and from Denver to other cities for which

Denver is a natural destination, or a logical transfer point

for flights in any direction.”

Frontier’s reported emphasis on orderly, profitable

growth will continue in 1980, despite escalating fuel costs

and the current softening of traffic due to the recession.

Regina and Saskatoon.

Other route improvements in 1980 will include a service

extension to Lexington, Kentucky, and nonstop flights

between Denver and Atlanta, to be scheduled in addition

to Frontier’s present Denver-Wichita-Atlanta flights.

these select markets.”

Frontier will put seven more Boeing 737’s into service

in 1980, including the return of three jets now leased to

another airline to trim capacity during the economic

slump. At the end of the year, Frontier will have 43

Boeing 737’s in service, and two more jets have already

been ordered for delivery in the spring of 1981.

Frontier route, like Detroit.

Even if passengers leave a Frontier plane at Denver and

board another jet for New York City, Frontier still has the

revenue on the first leg of the journey.

Feldman and now Ryland have identified Frontier’s

market and want to make people in these markets Frontier

customers.

Another one of Ryland’s top priorities in the immediate

future is to work with city and state officials to alleviate

the congestion at Denver’s Stapleton airport.

out to the Rocky Mountain News.

Since Frontier has 63 percent of its total operations in

Denver, Ryland feels the carrier’s growth potential is

currently constrained by the situation at Stapleton.

“With our cost-effective route system and fleet we can

make great strides, but congestion at Stapleton, the hub of

our system is a constraint” said Ryland.

Something must ‘be done quickly or the Denver area’s

steady growth will be threatened by lack of facilities,’

added Ryland.

“It is not in the best interest of Denver area and Col-

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orado citizens or travelers using the airport to build a new

$2 billion airport, a Taj Mahal of the future far out on the

plain. It is better to concentrate on more immediate and

lasting alternatives.

highways. And there is no other big city with enough open