RUDY CASTILLO 1984 - 1986 STATION AGENT, RESERVATIONS AGENT ELP OAK MAF DEN SLC (Rudy's contribution to Dena Andrws study on Frontier's death which is posted at http://FAL-1.tripod.com/DenasReport.txt) Hi Dena, My name is Rudy Castillo. I started my airline career at Frontier Airlines in 1983 as an airport agent and then moved to reservations. I was really into the res system, so when Frontier died I went to work at United's Apollo travel agency help desk. I never much cared for United, so after two years I moved on to American Airlines and Sabre. I worked in many different areas within Sabre for 12 years. I just moved to National Airlines in Las Vegas, who is hosted in Sabre. I am the Manager of IS Vendor Relations, what that really means is that I am the Sabre guy at NAL and I manage our contract with them and the other GDS'. Now, I will attempt to give you a little information on what automation was like at the original Frontier Airlines. Frontier was a CCS (Continental Computer Systems) user, the system is now known as Shares. CCS/Shares was designed for basic airline use and didn't have all of the bells and whistles that Sabre and Apollo had/have. It is important to note that Sabre and Apollo have a lot of really cool functions because they are marketed to travel agency subscribers. Agencies generate a huge amount of revenue from booking fees, so any investment to add enhancements and new functionality virtually pays for itself. CCS/Shares really did do everything Frontier needed. Other airline schedules were sometimes hard to find or were not in there at all and it's itinerary pricing was very limited. Frontier flew into Canada and Mexico and to my knowledge the system never calculated the taxes correctly. This was never really an issue because Frontier's reservations agents were VERY proficient in fares and taxes. Sabre and Apollo travel agency subscribers had "direct access" to Frontier. They also had the capability of requesting seat assignments and generating boarding passes. "Direct Access" in those days was nothing like what we have today. It was a one way link and it failed very frequently. In 1984 "direct access" was cutting edge technology in the airline industry. The product we have today is truly awesome! (I can provide more info on this if you need/want it.) Shares is alive and well working for quite a few carriers. It's largest customers are Continental and America West. I honestly don't think automation was even a factor in Frontier's demise. The main reason was the fact that Denver simply could not support three hubs. I hope this helps. I have spent almost half my life working in airline automation, let me know if I can provide more information. I would very much like a copy of your analysis. -Rudy Castillo (6/28/00) Hello Rudy, Thank you so much. Your input is invaluable. The Harvard Business School case study on Frontier Airlines totally focuses on the information technology side of things. It talks about the Apollo system displaying other airline schedules inferior to United's, and the pressure United placed on the travel agencies to book most of the reservations to their carriers. Additionally, it outlines Lowell Shirley's decision not to integrate the systems. From this standpoint my group has to make a IT recommendation for Frontier Airlines. We are challenged to assume that this problem arose in 1983 but the technology of today can be offered as possible solutions. Frontier's Sentry system did not provide realtime data which perhaps would have aided in better managerial decision making regarding pricing changes. We are operating on the belief that when bookings are low days/day before departure some airlines tend to drop fares to try and increase their passenger load. From this perspective we are formulating our recommendation. Any additional input you can offer is greatly appreciated. Upon completion of our report a copy will be e-mailed to you. Thanking you again. -Dena Andrews (6/29/00) Hi Dena, You're very welcome! Your message gives me a better idea of what you are looking for, hope this helps... In the early days of what is now known as a CRS/GDS, airline terminals were installed in travel agencies to generate more revenue to the host/owner airlines. The schedule/availability displays were VERY biased with Apollo favoring United and Sabre, American. At first only the top producing agencies for each carrier were considered for automation. As an incentive to the agency, the host carrier offered commission over-rides based on market share. This did put carriers like Frontier at a major disadvantage. These over-rides represented big bucks to a travel agency! The travel agency business was very different in those days. It really was easier to book the host carrier, and the distribution cost to the airline, only 10% of the ticket, was definitely cheaper. This eliminated the costs associated with a res agent taking the booking and an airport agent issuing the ticket. Revenue management in those days was poor at best. The tools that exist today, such as MIDT and BIDT which are provided by GDS', were only a dream. Off-line historical data was only as good as a carriers record keeping. Yield management was usually based on an individuals "best judgment" rather than real hard data. With what we have today, we can clearly see that load factor and the actual yeild have nothing to do with each other. The spin off of the GDS' from the owner airlines opened up a whole new world of opportunity for both the GDS and the worlds airlines. What we have today is the closest we have ever had to a level playing field as far as automation is concerned. If Frontier had survived the Denver hub war, it's biggest challenge would have been to modernize an aging fleet and keep up with the automation demands of the industry in the late 80's and the 90's. Frontier's strongest asset was it's employee's, there is nothing they wouldn't have done to keep their airline alive! To this day, most are very emotional about what happened so many years ago. Let me know what questions you have, I am happy to help. -Rudy Castillo (6/29/01) Hello - my name is Rudy Castillo - please send me an invite to join the Frontier online club -Rudy Castillo (2/18/09) Great hearing from you. Must be about 8 years since you posted those insightful comments about the FL reservations system. What are you doing these days? I'll send you an invite to the FL Club but thought you already belonged. We're still putting out the FL newsletter - 28 pages per issue now. Some of the back issues are posted at the FL website. Send your postal address and I'll send you a copy. Best regards, -Jake Lamkins (2/18/09) Thanks for your note. I lost track of the club after a move and a hard-drive crash. Its good to be back! I with Virgin America in San Francisco - I'm responsible for our reservations system. I'm having a great time out here! -Rudy Castillo (2/19/09) R CASTILLO Station agent seniority of 2/11/84, emp# 18375, on the 7/1/84 FL/ALEA seniority list. R CASTILLO Reservation agent seniority date of 2/11/84 on the 1/1/86 FL/ALEA seniority list. -Jake Lamkins (2/18/09) Posted at FLacebook: Hello Everyone - I started with FL in ELP in 1984. I was 18 years old. I kept getting furloughed and ended up in DEN, OAK, MAF and eventually SLC Res. Since FL I have worked at United, American, National, Hawaiian and now I'm with Virgin America in San Francisco. -Rudy Castillo (12/2/09) Rudy and I worked together in SLC res. He later moved to DEN and was my Wed nite party planner. We have stayed in touch and have seen many changes over the years. At least now he can have a drink when we go out.... It was really fun going out with a 18 year old in Utah .... could not legally drink :) -Linda Martin Emley LOL!! I love it - remember sitting at Denny's in SLC until 3am drinking cofFee after work? -Rudy Castillo (12/3/09) Facebook: 30? years ago today, I was blessed with working my 1st shift at the original Frontier Airlines in El Paso, Texas. I was on top of the world! What an amazing ride it's been - FL, UA, AA, Sabre, CWT, N7, HA, Kinetics and now VX! More friends(family) than I can count. Luv you alll!! Here's to 20 to 25 more years..... -Rudy Castillo (2/9/12) Time ...where did it go? March 17th will mark 44 years ago when I started with Frontier in ELP. Congratulations Rudy! -Harry Dixon (2/9/12) Wanted to let you know that Rudy Castillo passed away this morning. He worked multiple stations when he first hired on, then SLC reservations. -Lana Wiehe (5/7/15) Facebook Aloha and Good Morning. I’m Rudy’s brother, Ruben. I regret to inform you he passed away peacefully this morning. Services will be announced shortly. As of right now, we are requesting privacy and ask that everybody respects our wishes. The following are his words. I’m just reading them. "Hello Everyone- Thank you for all of the love and support you gave me through the years. I lead an incredible life and shared a lot of special memories with you. I would like to Thank Dr. Liang, Dr. Adler, Dr. Chesbro. ALL of my nurses at California Cancer Care. Thanks to all at Cima Hospice in El Paso, especially Joe. We didn’t have that much time to get to know each other, but you did a wonderful job taking care of me during my final days. Please don’t send flowers. They will only die, make a mess and get go into the dumpster. If you want to do something, give a small donation to The World Parrot Trust (www.parrots.org). I’m so glad our paths crossed. You made a HUGE difference in my life and I hope I taught you or helped you with something along the way. If you would like to say something to my family comment on Facebook at this address: https://www.facebook.com/rudy.castillo.733?fref=ts Love, Rudy Castillo" Thank you for all the love and support you have given our brother! Ruben Castillo, Pat Castillo-Garrett, Linda Castillo , Victor Castillo (5/7/15) Lana and I lost an old friend today...our AIRLINE buddy Rudy finally lost his battle from cancer... this picture is the 3 of us when I worked at Ft Leavenworth Ks... RIP -Rudness....we love you smile emoticon -Linda Martin Emley (5/7/15) In Memory of Rudy Castillo May 17, 1965 - May 7, 2015 Service Information Memorial Mass Friday, May 15, 2015 9:30 am St. Jude Catholic Church 4006 Hidden Way El Paso, Texas -http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Rudy-Castillo&lc=5092&pid=174809444&mid=6437242 (5/14/15) Facebook Hello, this is Rudy's brother Ruben. Rudy's Rosary Services will be held at 9:30am this Friday, May 15, 2015 at St. Jude Catholic Church , followed by a private burial for immediate family. A Celebration of Life gathering will be held immediately after the burial. In honor of Rudy's love for Hawaii, The Celebration of Life will be Luau style. Please come in your best Luau attire. Pat Castillo-Garrett, Linda Castillo, Victor Castillo St. Jude Catholic Church: 4006 Hidden Way, El Paso 79922 Bubbles Party Hall (Celebration of Life): 11501 Rojas Drive St F (5/14/15) FLacebook - FL Club FLight West ELP OAK MAF DEN SLC station agent and reservations agent Rudy Castillo's memorial webpage is posted: http://FAL-1.tripod.com/Rudy_Castillo.html -Jake Lamkins (5/14/15) Prayers to his family and friends -Trish Swanson-Hawk (5/14/15) Well done tribute to Rudy and his career. Rest well, Rudy. -Mike Gordon (5/15/15) FLacebook FLIGHT WEST UPDATED Frontier Memorial Webpage RUDY CASTILLO 1984 - 1986 STATION AGENT, RESERVATIONS AGENT ELP OAK MAF DEN SLC http://FAL-1.tripod.com/Rudy_Castillo.html Added an item and updated the webpage. Post your remembrances of Rudy. -Jake Lamkins (2/24/23)