U.S. airline boosts all-Airbus fleet with largest A320 Family member

Frontier Airlines, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, USA has taken delivery of the first Airbus A321 to join its fleet. In the last year, the airline has placed firm orders for 19 A321s, reflecting its market strength and the need for the largest Airbus A320 Family member. All 19 A321s are the current engine option (Ceo) and will be equipped with Shark lets. Each will seat 230 people in a single class, and be powered by CFM56-5B engines from CFM International. Frontier’s current in-service fleet consists of 57 A320 Family aircraft (35 A319s and 22 A320s). In addition to the remaining 18 A321s on backlog, the airline has 18 A319neo (new engine option), 62 A320neo, and two A320 Ceo aircraft on order, for a total backlog of 100 Airbus single-aisles.

All of Frontiers A321s will feature lightweight composite Shark lets, 2.4-meter/94-inch tall wing-tip devices that provide a fuel consumption reduction of up to 4 percent, plus either a range extension of 100 nautical miles or increased payload of up to 450 kilograms/992 pounds.

Frontier’s new A321s will initially be used on their routes from Orlando to Philadelphia, Denver, Cleveland and Detroit. The airline just this fall opened up a new crew base in Orlando to support the A321.

“All of us at Team Frontier are excited to welcome our first A321 into our family of Airbus aircraft,” said Barry Biffle, President – Frontier Airlines. “The A321 is the perfect complement to our fleet as we continue to seek areas of growth and offer our customers Low Fares Done Right.”

“Frontier took delivery of its very first Airbus aircraft in 2001, starting its transition to an all-Airbus fleet and its realization of the merit and flexibility of the A320 Family,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer – Customers. “The airline understands the value of continuing to upgrade its fleet with new aircraft and our ever-evolving fuel-saving technologies. In addition to saving money, Frontier is keeping its passengers happy with the most comfortable single-aisle cabin in the sky.”

The A320 Family, both CEO and NEO derivatives, seat from 100 to 240 passengers, seamlessly covering the entire single-aisle segment from low to high-density configurations on domestic to longer-range routes. To date, Airbus has sold more than 12,200 single-aisle CEO and NEO aircraft and delivered over 6,700 CEO to more than 300 operators worldwide.