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Frontier Airlines posted an all-time revenue record in the first quarter of 2026 but reported a net loss of $272 million, as surging fuel costs and one-time charges weighed on results, the company said Monday.
Adjusted revenue — which strips out a $73 million charge related to a court ruling on Transportation Security Administration fees — came in at almost $1.1 billion, up 17% from the same period a year earlier, Frontier Group Holdings said. On a reported basis, total operating revenue was $992 million, up from $912 million a year ago.
The adjusted net loss was $68 million, or $0.30 per share. The reported net loss of $272 million included the TSA fee charge and a $139 million non-recurring charge tied to the early termination of leases on 24 Airbus A320neo aircraft.
Fuel expense totaled $268 million in the quarter, with the airline paying an average of $2.88 per gallon — up 13% from $2.55 a gallon in the first quarter of 2025. Total adjusted operating expenses were about $1.1 billion, compared with $958 million a year earlier.
"Our ability to deliver strong top-line results and increase our liquidity despite a rapidly rising fuel cost environment validates our strategy and the resilience of our operating model," CEO Jimmy Dempsey said in a statement.
The revenue improvement was driven by strong travel demand, moderating competitive capacity, and revenue management initiatives, the company said. Load factor rose about four percentage points to 78.4%. Frontier carried 8.3 million passengers in the quarter, up 6% from a year earlier.
Frontier ended the quarter with $974 million in total liquidity, $100 million higher than at year-end 2025.
The outlook for the second quarter is more challenging. Frontier expects an adjusted loss of $0.45 to $0.60 per share in the period, with average fuel costs projected at $4.25 per gallon — nearly 48% above what it paid in the first quarter. Wall Street had penciled in a narrower second-quarter loss of 43 cents per share, meaning Frontier's own guidance came in worse than what analysts were projecting, per data tracked by LSEG and reported by Reuters.
Frontier projected second-quarter liquidity in the range of $900 million to $950 million, supported by fleet-related activity and an expected extension of its co-brand credit card agreement.
The airline said it generates 106 available seat miles per gallon, which it described as a fuel efficiency advantage of more than 40% compared to other major U.S. carriers. Frontier operates a fleet of 183 Airbus single-aisle aircraft, all financed through operating leases.