Frontier Group has reached preliminary deals to defer delivery of 69 Airbus A320neo-family aircraft from the manufacturer and to return 24 aircraft early to lessor AerCap.
The Frontier Airlines parent says the agreement with Airbus covers 69 A320neo-family jets currently set for delivery between 2027 and 2030. The planned deferral would see these rescheduled for delivery between 2031 and 2033.
The US low-cost carrier’s agreement with AerCap will see it terminate leases on 24 A320neos from its current fleet. These are currently due to expire within the next two to eight years. The aircraft are expected to be returned to AerCap in the second quarter. The lessor has also committed to 10 future sale-leaseback deals covering deliveries in 2028 and 2029.
When finalised, the moves to resize the fleet are aimed at generating annual run-rate cost savings of around $200 million by 2027 and will moderate Frontier’s long-term annual capacity growth to approximately 10%.
Frontier, which took delivery of seven more A320neos and three A321neos in the fourth quarter of 2025, ended the year with a fleet of 176 Airbus narrowbodies.
The plans to scale back its fleet growth come as Frontier on 11 February disclosed a net loss of $137 million for 2025 on revenues flat at just under $1 billion. The carrier did though post net earnings of $53 million for the three months ending 31 December 2025, its first quarterly profit for the year.
New Frontier Airlines chief executive Jimmy Dempsey, who took the helm after the departure in December of Barry Biffle, says: “As we look ahead to fiscal 2026, we are encouraged by demand trends and are laser focused on returning Frontier to profitability, strengthening our competitive position and driving enhanced value for our stakeholders.
“To achieve this, we’re executing a strategy centered on four key priorities: rightsizing our fleet, strengthening our cost discipline, reducing cancellations and improving on-time performance, and maturing customer loyalty.”
