Southwest Air Offers $113.6 Million to Buy Frontier

Southwest Air, the largest discount carrier, said it offered at least $113.6M to buy Frontier Airlines Holdings in a bankruptcy court auction. The nonbinding bid would compete with a pending offer of $108.8M from Republic Airways. That purchase accord allows Denver-based Frontier to accept a better offer if one emerges. Buying Frontier would give Dallas-based Southwest a bigger foothold in the Rocky Mountain region & a chance to operate its first flights outside the U.S. to leisure markets including Cancun, Mexico, & San Jose, Costa Rica. Southwest also will get access to Atlanta, world