Frontier Airlines plans to roll out first-class seats on its aircraft next year moving away from the ultra-low-cost business model it has operated for decades. In an interview with CNBC chairman William Franke stated Frontier was not trying to have first-class seating like at Singapore Airlines but what the company is trying to do is give the consumer an option. The ultra-low-cost carrier’s fleet currently comprises six A320-200s, seventy-one A320-200Ns, twenty-one A321-200s and sixty-nine A321-200NX.
The decision to add a first-class seating option follows a trend among certain carriers in the United States that are pushing a similar shift. Allegiant Air recently revealed it would add a first class to its currently single-cabin aircraft and JetBlue Airways is adding a domestic first class. Franke stated that in the US market where there are mature large airlines such as Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines who are changing the interior of their aircraft on a regular basis it could well be that a low-cost or a lower-cost airline in order to properly compete needs to make adjustments to its business model.
William Franke, Chairman of Frontier Airlines, shared: “In the US market where you have mature large airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, who are changing the interior of their aircraft on a regular basis, it could well be that a low-cost or a lower-cost airline, in order to properly compete, needs to make adjustments to its business model.”
