Frontier Brand Survives, Midwest Name Retired

Republic Airways, which owns both Frontier and Midwest and plans to merge the two, announced that it will retain the Frontier brand for the unified carrier.

In a release, Bryan Bedford, president, chairman and CEO of Republic Airways Holdings, Inc., said, “While the research showed that customers preferred the Frontier brand, they also expressed a strong loyalty to both brands based on affordability, convenience, destinations, and delivery of a differentiated experience. As we work to integrate these two brands into a unified Frontier Airlines, you can expect to see a lot of influence from the Midwest brand. This will include the introduction of the iconic Midwest Airlines chocolate chip cookie on all Frontier flights this summer.”

So: The cookie stays in the picture.

Later this year, the carrier will add 10 new destinations from Denver and five from Milwaukee, and plans to complete integration in 12-18 months. Midwest planes will be outfitted with Frontier’s trademark animal livery, and, in a nod to Midwest’s Wisconsin roots, the airline will add a badger to its lineup of critters. The badger, or course, is Wisconsin’s much-loved mascot.

As for Frontier’s seatback TVs, the jury is still out. In a branding FAQ, the airline says, “The TVs installed in our Airbus fleet will stay. We are still exploring other in-flight entertainment options and plan to have some form available in each of our aircraft by 2011.”

Readers, what do you think about the Frontier brand winning out over Midwest? Good choice? Should Republic have started from scratch with a new name and brand? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.