Frontier Airlines has withdrawn its full year forecast and warned of a loss during the first quarter of the year, citing the current economic environment. This makes it the second US carrier this week to pull annual guidance.
The Denver-based low-cost carrier follows Delta, who on Wednesday stated that they would be cutting full-year guidance, due to the uncertain environment in the wake of US President Trumps implementation of “reciprocal” tariffs on counties globally.
Since then, the president has implemented a 90-day pause on most tariffs - excluding China, which has since been hit with an increased tariff of 145% for imported goods.
Frontier said that its demand dropped during March, forcing the airline to offer discounts and promotions to fill seats. The airline also noted that its business model of relying heavily on last-minute bookings suffered, as these bookings were softer.
During the first quarter of the year, Frontier is expecting revenue to grow by 5%, in line with a 5% increase in capacity. The airline also expects an adjusted net loss per share in the range of $0.20 to $0.24, along with a pre-tax loss margin of 5%.
Looking ahead to the second quarter of the year, the carrier said that capacity during the three-month period would be down low single digits compared to the corresponding quarter of the year prior, cutting capacity on what it described as “slower travel days”.
This is a “cautious approach” the airline said, and they will cut capacity more if needed.
The airline said that the weakened demand environment is evidenced by a 17-point decline in the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which stood at 109.5 at the end of 2024 and now stands at 92.9 in March 2025.
On April 10, 2025, shares in Frontier were down 12.5% on the previous days close.
The company will publish its quarterly earnings on May 1, 2025.
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