There is a new Frontier out there.
During a grand ceremony on Tuesday at its maintenance hanger at Tampa International Airport (TPA) in Florida, Frontier Airlines presented its first Airbus A321neo.
Frontier's first neo, or "new engine option," is a 240-seat jet that outperforms the previous generation of Airbus narrow-body aircraft in terms of fuel efficiency and range.
By the end of the decade, Frontier plans to increase its fleet to 158 A321neos.
The parent company of Frontier, Indigo Partners, also owns Volaris in Mexico, JetSMART in Chile and Argentina, and Wizz Air in Europe. According to the Toulouse-based aircraft manufacturer, Indigo Partners has a total of 743 unfulfilled orders from Airbus.
The low-cost carrier has 68 more planes on order, bringing the total to 226 if the neos are counted.
This includes 18 orders for the A321XLR, a version of the plane with an even greater range that Frontier might use to fly from the East Coast to Alaska, Hawaii, or even over the Atlantic.
The neo family of jets delivers about 20% more efficiency than the preceding generation in addition to the increased range.
According to Frontier CEO and President Barry Biffle, the A321neo can get approximately 120 miles per gallon per seat with the airline's dense passenger arrangement, assuming a full flight.
In a statement, Biffle stated that "the addition of the A321neo to our fleet is a crucial milestone in our company's environmental aspirations and continued expansion."
They can bring rapid, noticeable decreases in fuel consumption, carbon emissions, and engine noise because they are the most fuel-efficient aircraft now in service among the major U.S. airlines.
The bald eagle on the tail of Frontier's first A321neo is a homage to the Pratt & Whitney engine designer's insignia, the airline claimed.
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