Frontier Airlines Q1 2026 earnings: record revenue, wider loss

Frontier Airlines posted an all-time gross grounds successful the archetypal 4th of 2026 but reported a nett nonaccomplishment of $272 million, arsenic surging substance costs and one-time charges weighed connected results, the institution said Monday.

Adjusted gross — which strips retired a $73 cardinal complaint related to a tribunal ruling connected Transportation Security Administration fees — came successful astatine astir $1.1 billion, up 17% from the aforesaid play a twelvemonth earlier, Frontier Group Holdings said. On a reported basis, full operating gross was $992 million, up from $912 cardinal a twelvemonth ago.

The adjusted nett nonaccomplishment was $68 million, oregon $0.30 per share. The reported nett nonaccomplishment of $272 cardinal included the TSA interest complaint and a $139 cardinal non-recurring complaint tied to the aboriginal termination of leases connected 24 Airbus A320neo aircraft.

Fuel disbursal totaled $268 cardinal successful the quarter, with the hose paying an mean of $2.88 per gallon — up 13% from $2.55 a gallon successful the archetypal 4th of 2025. Total adjusted operating expenses were astir $1.1 billion, compared with $958 cardinal a twelvemonth earlier.

"Our quality to present beardown top-line results and summation our liquidity contempt a rapidly rising substance outgo situation validates our strategy and the resilience of our operating model," CEO Jimmy Dempsey said successful a statement.

The gross betterment was driven by beardown question demand, moderating competitory capacity, and gross absorption initiatives, the institution said. Load origin roseate astir 4 percent points to 78.4%. Frontier carried 8.3 cardinal passengers successful the quarter, up 6% from a twelvemonth earlier.

Frontier ended the 4th with $974 cardinal successful full liquidity, $100 cardinal higher than astatine year-end 2025.

The outlook for the 2nd 4th is much challenging. Frontier expects an adjusted nonaccomplishment of $0.45 to $0.60 per stock successful the period, with mean substance costs projected astatine $4.25 per gallon — astir 48% supra what it paid successful the archetypal quarter. Wall Street had penciled successful a narrower second-quarter nonaccomplishment of 43 cents per share, meaning Frontier's ain guidance came successful worse than what analysts were projecting, per information tracked by LSEG and reported by Reuters.

Frontier projected second-quarter liquidity successful the scope of $900 cardinal to $950 million, supported by fleet-related enactment and an expected hold of its co-brand recognition paper agreement.

The hose said it generates 106 disposable spot miles per gallon, which it described arsenic a substance ratio vantage of much than 40% compared to different large U.S. carriers. Frontier operates a fleet of 183 Airbus single-aisle aircraft, each financed done operating leases.