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City and County of Denver

Michael B. Hancock
Mayor

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR


CITY AND COUNTY BUILDING
DENVER, CO 80202-5390
TELEPHONE: (720) 865-9090 FAX: (720) 865-8787
TTY/ TTD: (720) 865-9010

November 20, 2014

David Siegel
President and CEO
Frontier Airlines
7001 Tower Road
Denver, CO 80249
Dear Mr. Siegel,
Frontier has been a long-time valued partner of the city of Denver and Denver International
Airport. We have always had very open and productive communications regarding the issues
Frontier and other airline carriers are facing. Weve heard your concerns and acted on them.
Our recent decision to exempt aircraft parts from the 3.62 percent sales/use tax is an example
of this, as is DIAs buy out of the United Hangar for release to Frontier, restructuring our debt to
lower airline costs and taking back space leased to Frontier. We also worked with you for many
months to develop incentives for our Hometown Carrier. It was unfortunate that Frontier
ceased communication months ago during this work, as we never came to resolution despite
the citys commitment to work with you.
I understand Frontiers decision to become an ultra-low cost carrier, and I know that every
dollar matters to you as you transition to this new business model. However, I was
disappointed to find out that you are cutting jobs in Denver and am concerned about some of
the statements you made in your letter to employees.
You noted your landing fees have increased 30 percent over the past three years. As you well
know, this is largely influenced by number of and weight of the planes landing at DEN, which is
the basis of the allocation of airfield costs. The airport has worked hard to maintain
appropriate airfield costs. But the landed weight has decreased significantly as you and other
airlines shift to fewer aircraft with higher load factors. Still, DIAs cost per enplaned passenger
remains competitivein the mid-range of overall costs compared with other large hub airports.
You also mentioned that Frontiers Colorado property taxes have doubled in the past two years.
I asked my finance team to review these numbers and found that not to be the case in Denver.
Our records show that Frontiers property taxes in Denver went down in 2013 9.7 percent less
than the previous year.

Frontier is an important part of the Denver community. Denver and the community have
repeatedly demonstrated their commitment to Frontier and have done more to partner and
support airlines than many other cities in the nation. This has helped make DIA one of the best
airports in the world and has ensured that local passengers are connected to the world at
competitive prices and with convenient flights. DIAs competitiveness is growing, and our other
airline partners are thriving. We want the same success for Frontier and hope that you will
begin to actively communicate with us so we can work together to resolve the challenges you
face during this transition and beyond.
Respectfully,

Michael B. Hancock
Mayor

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