Frontier Airlines CEO: Transatlantic A321XLR Routes 'Definitely In Consideration’
The CEO of the low-cost airline Frontier Airlines is already thinking of using its future Airbus A321XLRs on the transatlantic, but also to Hawaii and Latin America.
Asked at the Routes World 2022 conference in Las Vegas, Barry Biffle, boss of the American specialist in low-cost flights based at Denver airport, detailed his ambitions for the A321XLR, of which the first of 18 copies ordered should be delivered in 2026. The single-aisle aircraft with a range increased to 4700 nm "will allow us to fly to Europe, Hawaii and deeper into South America", he said. If no possible transatlantic line has been decided to date, the CEO said that he had already met the management of Shannon airport in Ireland – a destination which “could be interesting”. He also cites the possibility of connecting, for example, Philadelphia "to all of the United Kingdom, Scotland and Ireland and, of course, continental Europe".
Another possible use of the A321XLR would be for Frontier Airlines one or more services to Hawaii (where it has never landed). Going further south in Latin America is another line of thought for low cost, which is already being posed in around twenty cities in the Caribbean, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala. From Miami, "you can reach just about anywhere in South America", recalled the CEO, while from the West Coast the A321XLR opens up possibilities to the Caribbean.
The CEO also declared that he is "studying" the possibility of creating a more or less premium class for the A321XLR, but again without a decision at this stage even if it is "not a taboo": "Everyone wants more” legroom and comfort, noted Barry Biffle, “the question is, are they willing to pay more? ".
The low-cost fleet currently has 115 Airbus single-aisle aircraft, including twelve 180-seat A320s, 81 A320neos (186 seats) and 21 A321s (230 seats) – plus the first of 156 A321neos expected. It is expecting an additional 80 A320neos, which together with the A321neos will “nearly triple the size of its fleet by the end of the decade”.
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