By Rick Shideler
Frontier Adds 100th Aircraft Becoming Largest A320neo Operator in the U.S.
Frontier Airlines, the low fare carrier based in Denver, Colorado, announced it took delivery of its 100th Airbus aircraft on Wednesday, an A320neo built in Mobile, Alabama. With the latest delivery, the company now operates the largest A320neo fleet in the U.S.
“Taking delivery of the 100th Airbus aircraft in our fleet marks a tremendous milestone for our company,” said Barry Biffle, CEO of Frontier Airlines. “We have significantly expanded our fleet in recent years as Frontier has continued to grow both domestically and internationally.”
At a time when most airlines are scaling down their fleet size, Frontier has adopted an aggressive growth plan with new aircraft and new routes. Primarily a leisure travel-focused airline, Frontier has benefited in the recent uptick in the leisure market.
In an interview with The Points Guy, Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said, “We’re pretty pleased with the recovery so far.”
Frontier isn’t slowing its pursuit of leisure travelers. It continues to work hard to maintain and grow its customer base by recently offering a One Million Seats for $11 and Friends Fly Free sales helping to woo flyers who are weary of the pandemic driven lockdowns.
Frontier is offering its low fares thanks in part to its aggressive cost control measures, including lowering its fuel costs. The airline touts itself as the most fuel-efficient airline in the United States. Based on its internal analysis of fuel consumption per seat mile, Frontier claims it is operating at a 43 percent fuel savings compared to its competitor airlines. The savings are believed to be in large part because of the addition of the A320neo to its fleet, a unique seating configuration in its aircraft, weight-saving tactics, and new baggage processes.
The airline plans to take 160 more Airbus aircraft by 2027.
In acknowledging Frontier’s milestone delivery, Airbus America’s Chairman and CEO, C. Jeffrey Knittel, said ”Airbus is pleased to reach this significant 100th aircraft milestone with Frontier Airlines, and to be a part of the airline’s continuing growth and success. With 160 more aircraft on order, we look forward to many more of these milestones.”
Frontier, known for its depictions of wildlife on its aircraft’s tails, named their 100th aircraft “Chinook the Gray Wolf.” The name comes from a female wolf-dog hybrid that was rescued in 1993 hours before she was to be put down. The wolf’s rescue became the impetus for the creation of the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center, located in Divide, Colorado.
“Chinook is a gray wolf which are endangered. We hope to bring attention to their journey with our special design” the company said on its Twitter page.
Rick is a retired airline maintenance professional with over 40 years experience in commercial, corporate and military aviation sectors. Rick holds an FAA Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) and a FCC General RadioTelephone Licenses. Rick is a veteran of the United States Air Force and has served in multiple leadership positions including Director of Maintenance for a large corporate aviation firm, airline Director of Engineering and has chaired multiple aviation maintenance safety and reliability industry committees. Rick took his first airplane ride at six months old and became an airline geek shortly thereafter.