Frontier Airlines has requested a face-to-face meeting with the Federal Aviation Administration to help speed up certification of its new turboprop subsidiary.
The Denver-based carrier wants to work directly with FAA officials to address concerns, answer questions and revise procedures as the agency enters the final part of the approval process.
Frontier expects to hear within two weeks whether the FAA will grant its request.
"If we're in the same room talking, we can solve some issues more quickly," Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas said.
Frontier announced in early September that it would delay next month's launch of its turboprop subsidiary - called Lynx Aviation - because it has not received certification to fly Q400 propeller-driven planes. Instead, Denver's second-largest carrier will use other planes on the new routes until Lynx receives final approval.
The FAA said there isn't any particular issue holding up certification, adding that it just takes time.
Under the approval process, an airline sends all of its training materials, manuals and other required information to the FAA for certification. The agency then marks up the materials with comments and sends them back for revisions, a cycle that can repeat several times.
The agency allows in-person meetings once its comments total 200 or fewer. Frontier said it is awaiting word on whether it meets that threshold.
The meetings can speed up the process significantly, allowing the two sides to "knock out" the remaining issues, said Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Frontier created its Lynx Aviation subsidiary to fly Bombardier Q400 planes to small cities and mountain towns in the region.
The carrier said Wednesday it is considering expanding into another building near its Denver headquarters to accommodate rapid growth. Executive and administrative operations could move into the new building, Frontier said.
