Frontier Takes Another Flyer on an IPO

Frontier Airlines filed for an Initial Public Offering on Monday, less than a year after it withdrew similar plans when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

The news, first reported by CNBC, is another sign of belief by aviation industry executives that air travel is making a rebound from the devastating financial effects of COVID-19.

Last month, another budget carrier, Sun Country Airlines, announced that it would transition from private to public.

CNBC noted that low-cost airlines with models similar to Frontier are among the most optimistic about the recovery. Rival Spirit Airlines, for example, is beginning to resume hiring pilots and flight attendants this month.

Frontier revealed the decision to try going public again in a regulatory filing in which it reported a $225 million loss in 2020 on revenue of $1.25 billion, compared with net income of $251 million on sales of $2.5 billion in 2019.

Frontier initially reported plans for an IPO in 2017 but dropped that in the summer of 2020. It now plans to list on NASDAQ with the ticker symbol FRNT.