Frontier pilots derail Southwest bid

Republic Airways Holding Inc., was awarded the bid in a bankruptcy auction in New York, The Dallas Morning News reported Friday. Republic will pay $108.8 million for the airline that it said it would operate as it is.

In a statement, Southwest's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said the budget carrier "would only move forward on this deal if it proved to be the right decision for our employees and financially prudent for our company."

Frontier's pilots balked at the Southwest deal, which included higher wages, but no seniority, the newspaper said.

Southwest Airline Pilots Association President Carl Kuwitzky said the union was willing to keep negotiating with Frontier's pilots. "We thought it was a fair offer," he said.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.