Frontier Airlines (Nasdq: FRNT) will announce today that it has become the
first airline in America to repay in full its post-9/11 U.S. government
guaranteed loan. In a ceremony to be held today at 1:30 p.m. MST at
Frontier headquarters, Frontier CEO and President Jeff Potter will present
an oversized check for $11.6 million to several members of the Colorado
Congressional delegation. The check represents the current outstanding
balance of the $70 million commercial loan facility made available to
Frontier Airlines primarily based on a loan guaranty from the Air
Transportation Stabilization Board (ATSB).

The press conference will be held with Senator Wayne Allard, Congresswoman
Diana DeGette, and Congressman Bob Beauprez.

The press conference will be held Monday, December 22, 2003 at Frontier
Headquarters (7001 Tower Road) beginning at 1:30 p.m. MST.

“The employees and the loyal customers of Frontier Airlines are grateful
to the U.S. taxpayers for this temporary financial assistance,” Jeff
Potter said. “This loan helped us to weather the challenges following
September 11, 2001 as well as the impacts of a stagnant national economy.
The loan, along with our employee`s dedication and motivation, has helped
Frontier continue its growth and return to profitability and we are happy
to be the first airline in America to repay this important loan.”

Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Congress passed the
Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act which, among other
things, provided $10 billion in federal loan guarantees and credits for
airlines that were impacted by the attacks.

Frontier applied for the loan guaranty in June 2002 and received
conditional approval on Nov. 5, 2002. On Feb. 14, 2003, Frontier closed on
and received the proceeds from the $70 million term loan, of which $63
million was guaranteed by the Air Transportation Stabilization Board
(ATSB), with smaller portions guaranteed by other parties. The loan was
provided by WestLB, a large European bank, with additional participation
by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Frontier made a required loan prepayment of $10
million in July 2003 as a result of its receipt of a federal tax refund
and a second loan prepayment of $48.6 million in September 2003 as a
result of the company`s common stock offering in September 2003.

“The events of September 11 and its aftershocks had a debilitating effect
on the capital markets,” Potter said. “At the time, we were in the midst
of our fleet transition plan, and access to capital was a critical success
factor. Obtaining approval for this government backed loan helped to
ensure that we could continue our business strategy, bring competitive air
travel options to more communities and preserve competition in the
aviation industry.”
“This is an important day for Frontier Airlines, for air travel in
Colorado and for the taxpayers of the United States,” said Rep. Diana
DeGette (D-CO). “Everyone at Frontier Airlines should be proud of being
the first
airline in the nation to pay off its federal loan. It is a testament to
the current and future success of the airline and all of its employees.”

Currently in its tenth year of operations, Denver-based Frontier Airlines
is the second largest jet service carrier at Denver International Airport
with a fleet of 39 aircraft and employing approximately 3,800 aviation
professionals. Frontier, in conjunction with Frontier JetExpress operated
by Mesa Air Group (“Mesa”), operates routes linking our Denver hub to 37
cities in 22 states spanning the nation from coast-to-coast and to four
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 four consecutive years. In August 2003,
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 http://www.frontierairlines.com/ .
——-