Frontier Airlines could soon suffer a significant operational meltdown due to the airline’s plan to increase aircraft utilization to a level that has not been sustained by any other narrowbody fleet, Frontier pilots recently said.
In addition to the proposed increase plan, maintenance shortcomings, lagging pilot hiring, and even more aggressive cost-cutting will contribute to the meltdown, the pilots warned.
“As pilots, we know that if you run an airplane too hard, for too long, it breaks,” Capt. Tracy Smith, chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association’s (ALPA) Frontier Airlines pilot group, said. “Wishful thinking will not make an airplane run harder or longer or faster. The same holds true for airlines. Under the leadership of Frontier investors Bill Franke and Indigo Partners, our management devised a plan that has pushed the operation too hard and has cut costs and necessary infrastructure too deeply. Based on our own analysis, we’re concerned that serious operational challenges will get even worse in the near future.”
Rapid expansion has stretched Frontier’s operations to the limit and are now operating 14.5 hours daily, Smith said.
Frontier Airlines, however, disputed those claims, stating that its aircraft utilization is 14.2 hours daily — lower than what was reported last year.
“Frontier Airlines rejects the claims made by ALPA, our pilot union,” Frontier said in a statement to Transportation Today. “Safety is our number one priority at Frontier and our aircraft maintenance has remained robust and will always keep pace with our operations. We are investing in making Frontier America’s premier affordable airline, which includes hiring new pilots as our aircraft fleet and business continue to expand. Frontier is disappointed that pilots are spending energy spreading false narratives, rather than attempting to reach a new collective bargaining agreement that is fair, sustainable, and provides security for everyone.”
Frontier ordered 134 new Airbus aircraft in November 2017 and plans to triple the airline’s size by 2027. This year, it has added more than 40 new routes since February and has current plans to add more.