Frontier Airlines' parent company Frontier Group Holdings reported operating revenues of $906 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 (Q4 2022), up 38% on 2019.
The carrier in turn netted a pre-tax quarterly margin of 5.5%, with the adjusted margin at 5.7%. It summed up the results as "profitable" and based on "strong revenue performance, including record ancillary revenue per passenger" of $82, which was 41% higher than the 2019 quarter.
However it recorded a loss for the year with operating revenues of $3.326bn weighed against expenses of $3.371bn, Around a third of the annual outlay was jet fuel, on which Frontier spend twice as much as in 2019. Q4 2022 operating expenses of $861 million were around $300 million above Q4 2019.
Frontier said it ended the quarter and year "in a strong liquidity position", pointing to $761 million of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, which it said came to $332 million net of total debt.
Among the Q4 2022 highlights for Frontier included taking delivery of two A320neo and three A321neo aircraft, helping it to claim itself as "the most fuel efficient of all major US carriers".
Frontier added expanded services "in 16 domestic markets", opened crew bases in Phoenix and Dallas and launched an "all-you-can-fly" option for passengers.
The carrier expects 2023 to be positive, claiming to be operating at a lower cost than rivals. “We intend to bolster our competitive edge by driving further improvement in ancillary revenue per passenger and unit costs. Today, our total cost advantage over the industry average is wider than it was in 2019, and I expect it will widen further this year," said chief executive and president Barry Biffle.
At year-end the carrier said it "had commitments for an additional 231 aircraft to be delivered through 2029, including purchase commitments for 67 A320neo aircraft and 154 A321neo aircraft and another 10 A321neo aircraft through direct leases".