Frontier Airlines will eliminate the complimentary chocolate chip cookie from its flights by May 1, a spokeswoman for the company said.
The elimination of the cookie will remove the last remaining vestige of Milwaukee’s hometown airline, Midwest Airlines, formerly based in Oak Creek, which was acquired in 2009 by Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings Inc. and merged into Denver-based Frontier Airlines.
The cookie had become a symbol of the “best care in the air” service that Midwest Airlines provided
Frontier Airlines has suffered significant losses and in November Republic announced plans to begin considering the sale of the airline. Frontier plans to cut 446 jobs in Milwaukee this month and will end service from Milwaukee to Dallas, Grand Rapids, Kansas City, Philadelphia and Phoenix.
Frontier is eliminating the cookie to reduce its costs.
“The company determined that offering a free perishable snack did not align with our low-cost business model,” said Frontier spokeswoman Lindsey Carpenter.
Beginning May 1, Frontier will offer complimentary Pepperidge Farms Goldfish crackers and Barnum’s Animal crackers for Ascent, Summit, Classic and Classic Plus customers, as well as unaccompanied minors.
“The new animal snack options are non-perishable, run less risk of waste, are a better value and align better with the Frontier brand,” Carpenter said.
