DENVER -- The head of Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc., which is reorganizing under bankruptcy protection, said Thursday credit-card processing companies are visiting other airlines, too, worried by the industry's financial struggles.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Chief Executive Officer Sean Menke said the processors are concerned because the industry is coping with persistently high fuel prices, a credit market crunch and the slowing economy.

The card processors don't want to be on the hook for ticket refunds if airlines stop flying.

"I do know that airlines are being visited and they're being visited for all the same reasons that we were visited," Menke said. He declined to name which airlines were involved.

Menke's comments came a week after the Denver-based parent of Frontier Airlines filed a Chapter 11 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to gain protection as it restructures debt. He said Thursday the airline is focused on staying a standalone carrier as it reorganizes under bankruptcy protection.

The airline said it will continue to operate a full schedule of flights and pay suppliers and employees as it reorganizes.

Menke said Frontier was forced into the move because its credit card processing company, First Data Corp., sought to hold up to 100 percent of proceeds from ticket sales in reserve until the passengers' flights are completed.

The filing prevents Greenwood Village, Colo.-based First Data from implementing the change until Frontier emerges from bankruptcy or received a judge's approval.

"We're in discussions with them looking for a resolution to this," Menke said.

Some analysts who follow the credit card processing industry said it's likely that the companies would re-evaluate the risk potential of individual airlines.

"In my opinion, I think they will be doing that just because of what the airline industry is going through," said analyst Adil Moussa of Aite Group, which is a market research company for the financial industry.

Any decision, however, depends on the individual carrier's financial picture, Digital Transactions magazine Editor John Stewart said.

From its Denver International Airport hub, Frontier battles Southwest and United Airlines in an atmosphere that has kept ticket prices low. Analysts have mixed views about whether the airline will emerge successfully from bankruptcy, saying a critical factor will be its reorganization plan.

Menke said he is re-evaluating every part of the operation. While nothing has been ruled out, he has no plans now to lay off any of Frontier's 6,000 employees.

Since he became CEO in August, the price of oil has risen $70 a barrel.

The airline has adjusted its routes, reached an agreement to sell four jets and laid off about 100 employees. It also launched a turboprop subsidiary, called Lynx Aviation, to reach into small and mid-sized markets with higher-yield traffic.

Last month, Frontier posted a record 84 percent load factor -- the number of seats filled on a plane. That compared with about 77 percent in March 2006.

"All the changes are being reflected in the bottom line relative to production," Menke said. "In any other year, I'd be doing cartwheels or backflips" with those results.

As he examines operations, Menke is focused on staying independent but is looking at marketing agreements or other such partnerships and implementing a tiered fare structure where passengers pay more for additional services.

"I think everybody understands the pressure this industry is under right now and we have to find ways of driving additional revenue," he said. "We have to find ways of finding more cost savings and that will continue to be my focus."