FL Regional Contributions Rise 31 Percent

Frontier Jet Express contributed $32.9 million, up 31 percent, to Frontier’s $372.9 in total revenues, according the Frontier’s fiscal second quarter results, which indicated a significant rise in regional revenue from $25.1 million. For the six months, regional operations contributed $61.7 million, up from $52.4 million to the $717.7 billion in total revenues at the low-cost, Denver-based carrier. Operating expenses for the FL’s partner reached $36.6 million, up from 25.1 million in the year-ago period and for the six months was $71 million compared to $57.5 million.
Perhaps its greatest disappointment was the delay in certification of its Lynx Aviation subsidiary which forced start-up expenditures of $2.8 million in the quarter and $5 million for the six months. It posted a loss of Lynx Aviation-related charter revenues during the quarter of $2.3 million.
The Jet Express operation carried 330,000 passengers in the quarter, up 36.4 percent. Revenue passenger miles reached 210.4 million, up 43.4 percent while available seat miles rose 34.2 percent to 269.2 million. Passenger load factor rose five points to 78.2 percent.
Passenger yield dropped 8.6 percent to 15.65 cents while yield per ASM dropped only 2.4 percent to 12.23 cents. Cost per ASM also dropped, by 2.5 percent to 13.62 cents. Average fare dropped 4.1 percent to $99.65. The operation posted a 33.3 percent increase in aircraft from nine to 12.
For the six months regional partners posted $61.7 million in passenger revenues, up 17.7 percent. Passengers rose 22.7 percent to 621,000 while RPMs rose 388.3 million, up 22.4 percent and ASMs increased 23.5 percent to 512.9 million.