Frontier Airlines Drops Airbus A321XLR Order, Cites Performance Issues, and More

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Frontier Airlines Abandons A321XLR Plans

Frontier Airlines has made significant changes to its fleet plan, deferring deliveries of new Airbus A320neo aircraft and canceling its order for the A321XLR model.

The low-cost carrier cited the A321XLR's performance falling short of expectations as the reason for dropping the aircraft from its fleet.

Key Points

• Frontier will no longer fly the A321XLR, instead opting to swap orders for the A321neo.

• The airline has also deferred dozens of Airbus A320-family aircraft deliveries to later dates.

• The decision comes as other US carriers like JetBlue and Spirit Airlines have also deferred Airbus deliveries recently.

What It Means

The aircraft order changes indicate Frontier is taking steps to reduce capital expenditures and moderate growth over the next several years amid a challenging operating environment for U.S. ultra-low-cost carriers.

Deferring deliveries will lower Frontier's financing needs and pre-delivery payment commitments.

The decision to cancel the A321XLR order suggests the aircraft's capabilities did not align with Frontier's network strategy and performance requirements.

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