Frontier Airlines History (1994–Today): The Animal Tails – Airline Employee Shop

Frontier Airlines History (1994–Today)

Today's Frontier Airlines started in Denver in 1994 with a few Boeing 737s and grew into a nationwide ultra-low-cost airline, famous for the animals on its tails. Here's a short history of Frontier, plus the Frontier Airlines collection that celebrates it.

A new Frontier in Denver (1994–2000)

Frontier Airlines was founded in Denver on February 8, 1994, by Frederick "Rick" Brown, Janice Brown and Bob Schulman. It shares its name and home city with the original Frontier Airlines, which stopped flying in 1986. Scheduled service began on July 5, 1994, with Boeing 737-200s flying from Denver to four cities in North Dakota. Within months the network had spread to other states.

The Airbus era (2001–2008)

Frontier received its first Airbus A319 in 2001, and in 2003 it was the launch customer for the Airbus A318. The last Boeing 737 left in April 2005, making Frontier an all-Airbus airline. On April 10, 2008, Frontier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after its credit card processor moved to hold back ticket money. Flights continued during the reorganization.

New owners, new model (2009–2021)

Republic Airways Holdings won the bankruptcy auction in 2009 and completed the purchase on October 1, 2009. In December 2013 Indigo Partners bought Frontier, and in 2014 the airline announced its move to an ultra-low-cost model. A new livery that September brought back the stylized "F" from the original Frontier. Frontier went public on Nasdaq on April 1, 2021, under the ticker ULCC.

Frontier today (2022–present)

A planned 2022 merger with Spirit Airlines fell through. Frontier kept growing with fuel-efficient Airbus A320neo and A321neo jets, and as of May 2026 it flew about 174 Airbus aircraft from its Denver headquarters.

A few things collectors love

  • Every Frontier jet carries an animal on its tail, such as Grizwald the Bear, Chinook the Gray Wolf and Powder the Polar Bear.
  • The early 737s wore the slogan "Spirit of the West," replaced in 2001 by "A whole different animal."
  • Frontier's animals star in its ads, including Jack the rabbit, Flip the dolphin and Larry the lynx.

Shop Frontier Airlines

Browse Frontier Airlines logo T-shirts, coffee mugs, coasters, tote bags and vintage designs in the Frontier Airlines collection. Add an airline bag tag or key tag for the Frontier flyer in your life.

AirlineEmployeeShop.com is an independent retailer of airline memorabilia. This page is for historical interest and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Frontier Airlines.