Frontier Airlines has filed a $100 million stock offering.
The Denver-based carrier, which recently launched service from New Castle Airport, had earlier planned a stock offering but did not follow through due to market conditions.
Phoenix-based Indigo Partners owns Frontier. It also has large stakes in airlines in other nations, including Volaris, a carrier in Mexico.
Indigo sold its stake in another ultra-low fare airline, Spirit, and went on to purchase control of Frontier, which had been struggling to gain profitability.
Indigo converted the airlines to Spirit’s ultra-low-fare model that offers low base fares and charges for everything from overhead bin storage to seat assignments. It continues to add aircraft and destinations.
At about the time Indigo moved Frontier to the ultra-low fare model, the carrier exited New Castle Airport in 2015 after launching and dropping service to Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, and Florida destinations.
Last month, Frontier got off to a modest start in New Castle with three-time-a-week service to Orlando.
Frontier, like other airlines, posted big losses in 2020 due to a lack of travel during the pandemic.
However, airline stock prices have been recovering from the pandemic. Frontier may be better positioned than some airlines to benefit from an upturn in travel since it primarily serves leisure travelers. By contrast, the business travel market is expected to be depressed for a longer period.
Frontier stock will trade on NASDAQ under the symbol FRNT.
Frontier started out in the 1950s as a regional airline, primarily serving the western U.S. but went out of business in the 1980s. A new airline carrying the Frontier name was launched in the 1990s and underwent various management and ownership changes before being acquired by Indigo.
