ULCC Q1 2022 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. Q1 2022 Earnings Call
• Date: April 28, 2022 at 8:30 PM UTC
• Management Team:
  • David Erdman (Senior Director of Investor Relations)
  • Barry Biffle (Chief Executive Officer)
  • Jimmy Dempsey (EVP and CFO)
  • Daniel Shurz (Senior Vice President, Commercial)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Total operating revenue for Q1 2022 was $605 million, equating to approximately $111 per passenger.
• GAAP net loss for Q1 2022 was $121 million, and adjusted net loss was $109 million after transaction and Treasury loan repayment adjustments.
• Total operating expenses for Q1 were $758 million, including $215 million of fuel expense at an average fuel cost of $2.99 per gallon.
• Adjusted total operating expense excluding fuel for Q1 was $532 million, which produced an adjusted CASM of 10.19 cents and adjusted CASM ex-fuel of 7.15 cents.
• Fleet at quarter end was 112 aircraft after delivery of two A320neo aircraft, representing a fleet 5% larger than Q1 2021 and 30% larger than Q1 2019.
• Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents were $727 million at quarter end after repaying the $150 million Treasury loan in February.

Guidance

• Second quarter capacity is expected to grow 10% to 12% versus the comparable quarter of 2019.
• Full year 2022 capacity is expected to grow 12% to 15% versus full year 2019.
• RASM is expected to improve by over 20% in Q2 versus Q2 2019, with the company expecting record revenue in Q2.
• Ancillary revenue per passenger is targeted at $70 in Q2, up from $69 in Q1 and above the prior target of $65.
• Fuel cost for Q2 is anticipated to be between $3.85 and $3.90 per gallon.
• Adjusted total operating expenses excluding fuel for Q2 are expected to be between $545 million and $555 million.