dailynewsnblog
Ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines appears not to be immune to the pressures facing budget carriers in the United States, with the recent news that the Denver-based airline will look to return, defer, and delay several aircraft to help support the iconic airline’s bottom line.
As analysed by One Mile At A Time (OMAAT), the airline is poised to see 24 leased A320neos returned, 10 future sale-leaseback transactions, and the deferring of 69 aircraft that were set for delivery. These reductions are expected to linger through until the start of the next decade.
Cutting Costs To Improve The Bottom Line
Frontier has made the necessary move to reduce the number of aircraft in its fleet by 24, and deferred the upcoming delivery of almost 70 airplanes. The decision was made in a bid to reduce losses and refocus on the most profitable routes in its network, and comes on the back of the airline’s fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results, which netted a quarterly net profit of $53 million, resulting in a net loss overall of $137 million (as per Yahoo Finance).
This news comes after recent questions being raised as to why the airline has such a short booking period (which in January extended to just April 13). This has now been extended to May and is now even longer through to September. At the same time, Frontier has announced its indefinite cancellation of routes to Harrisburg and the Dutch island of Aruba. Brett Snyder, an airline expert and president of Cranky Flier LLC, analysed what Frontier could be facing and explained to Yahoo the below:
“Frontier has realized its aggressive growth plan was just too aggressive. Now it can hand back airplanes and defer deliveries to get to what it thinks is a more manageable 10% long term annual growth rate.”
A Reduction In Fleet Size
Looking at data from ch-aviation, Frontier currently operates a fleet of over 160 aircraft, which are all part of the Airbus A320 family of planes. These include the A320ceo, A320neo, A321ceo, and A321neo. The CEO versions were set to gradually be replaced by the newer and more economical NEO type.
With the airline now planning to reduce its fleet size and defer new aircraft, it will see a total of 24 leased A320neo be returned to Irish aviation lessor AerCap mid-lease, and these aircraft are expected to exit the Frontier fleet before the middle of 2026. Additionally, AerCap agreed to the future sale-leaseback of 10 Airbus airplanes, which is set to support a short-term financial boost for the carrier. A total of 69 deferred A320neo and A321neo will now be pushed out until the start of the next decade.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Frontiers top airports served by the number of annual passengers include Denver (1st), Orlando (2nd), and Las Vegas (3rd), followed by Atlanta, Philadelphia, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Phoenix.
Frontier Airlines Suspends Over 40 Routes Indefinitely
However, these could be preliminary capacity adjustments before Frontier Airlines publishes its full 2025 schedule.
Indigo Partners
Frontier, alongside Chilean low-cost carrier JetSmart, is both owned by American private equity firm Indigo Partners (not to be confused with Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo). Indigo Partners has stakes in four low-cost carriers globally, with Mexican airline Volaris and European airline Wizzair rounding out the group. Previously, Indigo also had a partnership with Enerjet, which was behind the now-defunct Canadian ULCC Lynx Air.
The latest news of Frontier rapidly reducing its fleet size in a bid to save its bottom line now seems to have permanently shelved any chances of the airline merging with other struggling budget carrier Spirit Airlines. Back in 2022, Indigo Partners attempted to merge Frontier with Spirit Airlines, but the deal fell apart when JetBlue then also threw its hat in the ring, surpassing Indigo’s bid with an all-cash offer of $3.7 billion.
Frontier Airlines aircraft are an iconic sight at the airports that they serve, due to the unique airplane tails that highlight environmental conservation and celebrate wildlife. This has created the airlnies own unique, friendly brand identity which sees each plane identified with a unique, named animal.
