Frontier Airlines has become the latest US discount carrier to delay its acquisition of Airbus narrowbody jets, following moves taken recently by Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways.
Denver-based Frontier’s parent Frontier Group disclosed the delivery deferrals on 8 August, while also saying it no longer intends to acquire 18 of Airbus’s long-range A321XLRs. On 8 August Frontier also said it turned a $31 million profit in the second quarter of 2024.
Frontier in June notified Airbus “it will not purchase any A321XLR aircraft”, according to a newly filed regulatory document from the company. Instead, the document says Frontier intends to convert orders for 18 A320neos to orders for the baseline A321neo.
Frontier in 2019 reveals plans to acquire 18 A321neos through conversions of A320neo orders, saying the jets would let it fly international and transcontinental US, and routes to Hawaii. It remains unclear if the airline ever executed the order conversion with Airbus, though Cirium data shows that Frontier did indeed hold firm orders for 18 A321XLRs, powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G turbofans.
Airbus has not yet achieved certification of the A321XLR, which it says will have 4,700nm (8,704km) of range. It expects to complete the certification this year.
Additionally, Frontier said on 8 August it has deferred delivery of 54 A320neos and A321neos it had previously planned to receive from Airbus between 2025 and 2028.
Frontier now expects to receive those jets starting in 2029, saying the schedule changes will reduce its financial obligations in the coming years. The airline did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
As of end-June, Frontier, an all-A320-family operator, had 148 of the jets and held outstanding orders for another 198. With the schedule revisions, it plans to acquire nine Airbus narrowbodies in the back half of this year, 21 in 2025, 22 in 2026, 34 each in 2027 and 2028, and the remaining 40 in 2029 and beyond.
Two competing airlines have likewise pushed back A320neo-family deliveries in recent weeks, citing insufficient demand for air travel and problems with PW1100Gs.
JetBlue on 30 July said it had delayed deliveries of 44 A321neos until 2030 and later. The New York-based airline now expects to receive no A321neos between 2026 and 2029.
Similarly, on 1 July Spirit said it had postponed until 2030 and 2031 deliveries of A320neo-family jets previously scheduled to arrive between July 2025 and end-2026. Cirium data showed Spirit had planned to acquire six aircraft during that period.
