Frontier Airlines pushes ahead, with some success, despite pandemic
In 2019, Frontier Airlines was on a roll. The ultra-low-cost carrier had inked a deal to buy the newest version of Airbus’s A321XLR jet. It was snapping up slots at airports abandoned by its competitors and launching nonstop service for unbelievably cheap prices. The airline ended the year on a high note, announcing it would invest $10m to build a new training center at its Orlando hub and open a third base at Miami International Airport in 2020. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, upending an industry that had been on the verge of another record-breaking year. Since then, airlines have furloughed more than 33,000 workers, despite receiving more than $50b in government support. Thousands more workers have left the industry permanently. Analysts are predicting it could be three or four years before passenger traffic returns to 2019 levels. Even so, Frontier CE Barry Biffle remains bullish on the airline’s prospects, arguing that at a time when fewer business travelers are flying, his airline’s dependence on leisure travelers means it is better positioned to weather the downturn. At the same time, he acknowledges that talk of expansion has been tempered by a harsh new reality as the entire industry faces a future that could mean fewer travelers not just for months, but years. The numbers are stark. Frontier expects to carry at least 20m fewer passengers this year than it did in 2019, when it flew more than 31m people. “We had high margins, low costs and a good growth trajectory,” Biffle said. “And then we hit a huge, massive speed bump.” Story has more.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2020-10-29/unaligned/frontier-airlines-pushes-ahead-with-some-success-despite-pandemic
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Frontier Airlines pushes ahead, with some success, despite pandemic
In 2019, Frontier Airlines was on a roll. The ultra-low-cost carrier had inked a deal to buy the newest version of Airbus’s A321XLR jet. It was snapping up slots at airports abandoned by its competitors and launching nonstop service for unbelievably cheap prices. The airline ended the year on a high note, announcing it would invest $10m to build a new training center at its Orlando hub and open a third base at Miami International Airport in 2020. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, upending an industry that had been on the verge of another record-breaking year. Since then, airlines have furloughed more than 33,000 workers, despite receiving more than $50b in government support. Thousands more workers have left the industry permanently. Analysts are predicting it could be three or four years before passenger traffic returns to 2019 levels. Even so, Frontier CE Barry Biffle remains bullish on the airline’s prospects, arguing that at a time when fewer business travelers are flying, his airline’s dependence on leisure travelers means it is better positioned to weather the downturn. At the same time, he acknowledges that talk of expansion has been tempered by a harsh new reality as the entire industry faces a future that could mean fewer travelers not just for months, but years. The numbers are stark. Frontier expects to carry at least 20m fewer passengers this year than it did in 2019, when it flew more than 31m people. “We had high margins, low costs and a good growth trajectory,” Biffle said. “And then we hit a huge, massive speed bump.” Story has more.<br/>
