Frontier Airlines introduces ‘Bori the Coquí Llanero’ plane
Ultra-low fare carrier Frontier Airlines unveiled its newest aircraft, an A321neo featuring “Bori the Coquí Llanero” on its tail, during a celebration at Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport (SJU) in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Bori the Coquí Llanero pays tribute to Puerto Rico, which is Frontier’s largest Caribbean destination, the carrier stated.
“We’re proud that the design of the tail of this plane features the coquí llanero, one of the best-known icons of our island,” said Carlos Mercado, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.
“This initiative led by Frontier, in addition to creating awareness about endangered species, contributes to expanding the message and recognition of Puerto Rico as a premier tourist destination,” he said.
“We thank Frontier for continuing to bet on Puerto Rico as a connecting bridge between the United States and the Caribbean,” Mercado noted.
The airline serves Puerto Rico from Muñoz Marin Airport in the San Juan Metropolitan Area, Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla and Mercedita International Airport in Ponce and has been significantly expanding its operations.
Frontier has announced a major increase in service over the past several months, growing the total number of routes it operates from Puerto Rico from 11 to 20. To celebrate the new plane, Frontier is offering promotional fares to Tampa and Orlando for as low as $59 from the three airports it serves in Puerto Rico.
Every Frontier aircraft features an animal on its tail with a special name and backstory. Last year, the airline conducted a Tropical Tails contest, which featured endangered species from six different tropical destinations, one of which would be deemed the winner and featured on a future aircraft. The Puerto Rican lowland coquí received the top vote.
Consumers were then invited to vote on a name for the coquí llanero via social media. “Bori” was the resulting winner and is short for Boricua – a term derived from “Borikén,” the Taino Indian name for the island – and is used to describe a person from Puerto Rico by birth or descent.
“We’re thrilled to be in Puerto Rico to reveal Bori to the world,” said Tyri Squyres, vice president of marketing, Frontier Airlines. “The introduction of this very special Puerto Rico-dedicated plane tail and our continued growth in service to the island is indicative of our strong commitment to the people of Puerto Rico.”
“We’re excited this plane tail will help raise further awareness for the endangered and treasured Puerto Rican lowland coquí,” he said.
The Puerto Rican lowland coquí is one of the smallest tree frogs in the world. Mature llaneros are no wider than a dime and generally yellowish in color. Their tiny stature squeezes their vocal range into the highest pitch of almost any frog — just barely audible to human ears, making the sound they are so famously known for and named after — “Ko-Kee.” The coquí llanero is listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
“A year after announcing the coquí llanero was selected to be featured on the tail of Frontier’s new aircraft, we are beyond excited to see Bori, the Coquí, fly for the very first time,” said Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico.
“We’re honored to share this Puerto Rican staple with Frontier fliers, which includes travelers from Puerto Rico’s key markets in the mainland and cities with large diaspora populations. Thank you to our friends and trusted partners at Frontier Airlines for making this possible,” Dean said.
