=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2009/04/28/financial/= f090129D46.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, April 28, 2009 (AP) Bankruptcy items drive Frontier Airlines 4Q loss By JOSHUA FREED, AP Airlines Writer (04-28) 12:26 PDT MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Bankruptcy expenses drove Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. to a fourth-quarter loss of almost $161 million, but it reported an operating profit as it continues to look for an investor to take it out of Chapter 11. The small Denver-based airline said Tuesday it would have made a profit = of $19.6 million if not for bankruptcy expenses and taxes. Bankruptcy expenses were almost $180 million, most of it for an unsecured claim related to a debtor-in-possession loan by Republic Airways Holdings Inc. Revenue for the quarter was $263.9 million. Frontier has been reorganizing under bankruptcy protection since April 1= 0, 2008, and is still looking for an investor to give it the financing to emerge from bankruptcy, possibly around late summer, said President and Chief Executive Sean Menke. He said Frontier might have a deal to announce in 30 to 40 days. Several potential investors are doing due diligence, or examining Frontier's books, in consideration of a deal, Menke said. Menke said the "vast majority" of those examining Frontier would be investors, but there are also "potential strategic players" looking at it as well. "The amount of information that they are requesting and looking at is pretty significant," he said. But "until there's a firm offer on the table I'm under the assumption that we have to keep telling our story and getting out in front of people," he said. Frontier ended the quarter with $71.8 million in cash, up slightly from $69 million at the end of 2008. In Denver, Frontier competes with an increased presence from Southwest Airlines Co. as well as a United Airlines hub. It has been shrinking while it reorganizes, reducing March capacity by almost 20 percent compared with a year ago. Passenger traffic for the month fell 24 percent. But Frontier has cut costs, too. The cost of flying one passenger one mi= le fell 7.3 percent for the quarter, not counting fuel, which fell sharply anyway because of cheaper prices and less flying. The airline has saved money on wages, making its staffing levels and maintenance more efficient, and targeting ads more precisely, Menke said. Those lower costs are a selling point for some potential investors, Menke said, while others are worried about the travel dropoff from the recession. He said revenue has stopped getting worse but hasn't started improving yet, either. Like other airlines, Frontier has added fees for many services that used to be free, including checking bags. Those fees are expected to generate about $9 per passenger in the current fiscal year, up from $2.50 two years ago, the airline said. ----------------------------------------------------= ------------------ Copyright 2009 AP <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".