Frontier Airlines is cutting back on its growth and aircraft deliveries scheduled for the next few years as it attempts to improve profitability. While the carrier had a positive second quarter, the second and third quarters are typically profitable while the 1st and 4th quarters are typically less profitable.
While Frontier’s CEO talks a good game about being a low cost producer, the airline has been unable to generate the level of revenues that its competitors, particularly the legacy carriers Delta and United, have been able to achieve thanks to premium services.
It appears that Frontier is suffering from overcapacity in many of its leisure markets, including major leisure destinations like Orlando and Las Vegas. To reduce capacity, the carrier is cutting back on its mid-week schedules, flying approximately 30% of its schedule on Tuesday and Wednesday for the winter season. This should dramatically reduce costs for the airline, which is struggling to increase revenues. CEO Barry Biffle stated that the carrier looked at where it was making or losing money, and midweek flights were losing money.
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