Frontier
A Frontier aircraft at Denver International Airport. Photo: F/O Randi Freyer (Frontier)
At A Glance
Pilots joined ALPA: 2016
Number of pilots: 2,200
Pilot bases: Denver, Colo.; Dallas/Fort Worth, Tex.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Orlando, Tampa, and Miami, Fla.; Philadelphia, Pa.; and Atlanta, Ga.
Hubs/key markets: Orlando, Fla.; Las Vegas, Nev.; and Denver, Colo.
Headquarters: Denver, Colo.
Operations: Frontier serves approximately 120 destinations in the U.S., Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America.
Fleet: Approximately 135 A320s/A321 with orders for an additional 204 A320neos, A321neos, and A321XLRs. Frontier has the largest fleet of A320neos in the Americas.
Frontier Airlines pilots are among the last U.S. pilot groups still in Section 6 contract negotiations during the current bargaining cycle. ALPA negotiators submitted their comprehensive economic proposal to management’s negotiators in 2023. But after more than six months of talks, progress has been slow.
Pilots are expressing frustration with their lack of a career contract in comparison to their peers at Alaska, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue, United, and elsewhere who’ve recently achieved significant gains in their amended agreements. Attrition is high as pilots are leaving Frontier to seek higher pay, enhanced job security, and better quality of life. All these factors are leading to an outflow of experienced committee volunteers and elected union leaders.
Management is placing additional stress on the pilot group with a proposal to introduce new pilot bases across the country to purportedly improve operational reliability and reduce costs. The airline announced it will open new bases in Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2024, in addition to reopening its former base in Chicago, Ill.
The pilots’ Master Executive Council (MEC) is responding by mounting a vigorous campaign to support negotiations, including a new version of the pioneering “strike bus” that helped the group roll to victory with its first ALPA contract in 2019. The new RV, known as “BOB” (for “Big Orange Bus”), will be seen around the country at unity-building events this year.
