Frontier Airlines reported a 71% increase in airfare in the third quarter, according to CNBC. Fare revenue averaged $67.82 per passenger, compared with $39.74 a year earlier. The company said the increase came as it tried to pass along a larger jump in jet fuel prices.
Total revenue per passenger, including fees for checked and carry-on luggage, rose 30% to $138.22. Passenger count rose 18% to more than 9.8 million, a difference of 1.5 million passengers from last year.
Frontier said demand remains strong at the higher prices. The airline still posted a net loss of $104 million, compared with a $77 million loss a year earlier. It took a $134 million charge tied to the return of some Airbus aircraft. Excluding that and other one-time charges, Frontier reported an adjusted profit of $40 million.
Its fuel bill rose 82% to $425 million. Frontier forecast a fourth-quarter adjusted loss of 15 cents per share to adjusted earnings of as much as 5 cents per share.
According to the report, carriers including Delta Air Lines and Frontier say customers are mostly continuing to book flights despite higher fares, but record jet fuel prices, their biggest cost after labor, are eroding profits. Frontier had passed Spirit Airlines as the country's biggest discount carrier before Spirit collapsed in May.