Frontier Airlines might have turned a corner. On Friday, the low-cost carrier reported a net profit for the fourth quarter and for full-year 2024.
Frontier's Q4 pre-tax operating margin was 5.1% and the airline reported net income of $54 million, reversing a $37 million net loss from a year earlier. Frontier reported full-year 2024 net income of $85 million, compared with a loss of $11 million in 2023.
Moreover, Frontier projected earnings per share of at least $1 for full-year 2025 and set a target of achieving a pre-tax operating margin in the double digits during the peak summer months.
The report sent Frontier's stock soaring. It was up more than 15% at closing.
The discount carrier has struggled financially in recent years as consumer preferences tilted toward full-service airlines. So the airline made several changes.
In 2024, Frontier began pivoting away from leisure routes with a glut of capacity, adding routes with less competition and higher prospects for growth. With that change, Frontier also began efforts to increase its appeal to business travelers. It introduced a merchandising model that moved bundled fares to the front of the booking path and de-emphasized no-frills fares. And, Frontier introduced a product called UpFront Plus, which enables the purchaser to buy an aisle or window seat and block the middle seat. First class-style seats will be installed this year.
Over the course of 2024, Frontier also simplified its route network by adding more crew bases and mainly utilizing out-and-back flying rather than less efficient point-to-point flying.
CEO Barry Biffle said Frontier's revenue and network initiatives contributed to record fourth-quarter revenue of $1.02 billion.
The airline also benefitted from industrywide fare increases during the final four months of 2024 as well as 23% year-over-year decline in fuel costs for the fourth quarter.