Frontier Airlines has strengthened its future fleet growth by securing $205 million of credit for aircraft pre-delivery payments. The credit was cited in a Securities Exchange Commission filing on September 26th and reported by ch-aviation.

At least some of the credit, as much as $150 million, is thought to be coming from the lessor Jackson Square Aviation. Frontier Airlines also has the option of increasing the total amount of credit to $500 million, subject to the specific terms and conditions of the deal. The President and Chief Operating Officer of Jackson Square Aviation, Chris Dailey, said,

“The Frontier and Jackson Square Aviation relationship extends over many years through aircraft sale-leaseback financing, and we are excited about this evolution in our partnership.”

Frontier Airlines Airbus A321 (N701FR) departing from San Diego International Airport.

Photo: Wenjie Zheng | Shutterstock

This latest line of credit, together with an existing credit facility of approximately $475 million, will be used to cover Frontier Airlines’ expected aircraft deliveries from Airbus through to the end of 2027.

Frontier Airlines’ fleet today

With the substantial line of credit due to be used for aircraft pre-delivery payments, what does the carrier’s fleet look like today, and how might it look in the future? The latest data from ch-aviation shows that Frontier Airlines’ fleet is currently made up of the following aircraft:

  • 8 x Airbus A320
  • 82 x Airbus A320neo
  • 21 x Airbus A321
  • 42 x Airbus A321neo.
Frontier Airlines Airbus A320neo with American Airlines Boeing 737-823 taking off in the background at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

Photo: Raleigh–Durham International Airport

The aircraft have an average age of 5.8 years old, with the youngest sub-fleet by far being the Airbus A321neos, coming in at just one year old, on average. When it comes to upcoming aircraft deliveries, Frontier Airlines’ fleet is due to grow exponentially over the coming years, as the carrier currently has the following aircraft on order, awaiting delivery:

  • 49 x Airbus A320neo
  • 145 x Airbus A321neo.

As more neo aircraft are delivered, Frontier Airlines is expected to phase out its older ceo aircraft, creating a modern, fuel-efficient fleet for the low-cost carrier. In Frontier Airlines’ all-economy class configuration, its Airbus A320neos can seat up to 186 passengers, while the larger A321neos can seat up to 240 passengers, slightly more than the ceo version of each aircraft.

Frontier Airlines – an all-Airbus carrier

Frontier Airlines was founded in 1994 and today has 15 operating bases throughout the continental US and Puerto Rico, from which it operates flights to almost 100 destinations across the US< Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. The carrier’s primary base is at Denver International Airport (DEN), where it is the third-largest airline, with a market share of 9.6%, behind United Airlines (46.8%) and Southwest Airlines (30.9%).

A Frontier airlines plane

Photo: Carlos Yudica | Shutterstock

Frontier Airlines has not always been an all-Airbus carrier. Over the years, the low-cost carrier has also operated a small fleet of Boeing 737s (737-200s and 737-300s), retiring the last of the type in 2006.

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