Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. staged a recovery in the quarter ended Sept. 30, with a $17.3 million profit resulting from fuller planes with more connecting passengers, strong revenue growth and the benefits of fuel hedging.
Frontier also said its startup turboprop subsidiary Lynx Aviation plans to begin service by the end of the year.
The Denver-based airline’s net income was equivalent to 39 cents per diluted share. It was Frontier’s most profitable quarter since 2000 and an improvement from roughly $509,000 in net income, or 1 cent a share, a year earlier.
The strong profits aren’t expected to last. Frontier said it expects a pretax loss for its December quarter, excluding special items, although a smaller loss than last year’s December quarter.
Lynx could be certified by early December, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, if there are no major issues or delays.
