Frontier Airlines reported Thursday it lost $10.3 million, or 28 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, when it had higher fuel costs and lost millions in revenue after hurricanes hit Mexico and New Orleans.
That’s narrower than its $11.1 million loss, or 31 cents a share, in the same period last year.
The Denver-based airline’s fuel costs in its third fiscal quarter were about 44 percent higher, at $77.6 million, than in the year-ago quarter. Revenues were nearly $247 million in the quarter, up from $208.2 million a year earlier.
Frontier lost $4.8 million in revenue in Cancun and Cozumel, Mexico, where hotels have taken longer to recover than hoped, said Frontier spokesman Paul Tate. The airline also lost $1.2 million in revenue by withdrawing from the New Orleans market.
Chief executive Jeff Potter also acknowledged challenges from Southwest Airlines’ arrival in Denver.
“While we recognize that the increased competition in our hometown market of Denver will generate new pressures, we face that competition with the confidence that comes from knowing that we have a product that is second to none,” Potter said in written comments.
He also said he expects break- even earnings results for the January-March quarter.
The company had reported a profitable second quarter but said then it expected to lose money in its third quarter.
Tate said Southwest has been the “fare leader” but that “they certainly don’t like to keep fares this low (in Denver) for very long, because they need to make money too.”
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-820-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
