Budget airline king Bill Franke warms to premium upgrades
Frontier Airlines is shifting its business model to include premium first-class seating and Starlink Wi-Fi to combat rising costs and changing consumer expectations. This marks a departure from the ultra-low-cost strategy previously championed by chairman Bill Franke.
Why it matters
The pivot reflects broader economic pressures on budget airlines as premium travel demand increases and competitors adopt similar fee-based models.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — For decades, William Augustus Franke , Frontier Airlines ' chairman and a serial airline investor, made a killing selling cheap plane tickets and charging fees to check bags, to pick seats and for everything else. Now, he says first-class seats and other traveler comforts are in order — at least in the United States.
Frontier is planning to roll out first-class seats next year on its Airbus fleet. It's also joined a growing list of airlines adding SpaceX 's Starlink Wi-Fi on board as it seeks to return to steady profitability.
"We're not trying to have a Singapore Airlines first class," Franke, 89, told CNBC in late June at the model airplane-filled offices of Indigo Partners, the private equity firm he founded. "What we're trying to do is give the consumer an option," he said, calling it at once upscale and competitive.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in