US-based ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines has announced that James G ‘Jimmy’ Dempsey will henceforth be serving in the capacity of Interim Chief Executive Officer at the company. The American budget operator had previously been led by Barry L Biffle, who had been at Frontier for 11 years.

The news comes as Frontier Airlines ends the year by reiterating its fourth-quarter guidance for 2025. The ultra-low-cost carrier has come a long way since its foundation and first flight in 1994, with more than 170 aircraft in its fleet and almost the same number on order. Despite this growth, its operations have shrunk slightly year-on-year, with December 2025 seeing Frontier Airlines schedule around 2.3% fewer flights than last year.

All Change

Frontier Airlines confirmed in a statement released yesterday afternoon that James Dempsey would be taking over from outgoing Chief Executive Officer Barry Biffle on an interim basis. Dempsey assumed this role yesterday, on December 15, with Biffle remaining at Frontier Airlines, albeit only « in an advisory capacity, » until December 31 of this year. Until yesterday, Dempsey had instead been serving as the President of the budget carrier.

Dempsey knows Frontier inside and out, having initially joined the airline back in 2014 as its Chief Financial Officer. Before his move to the airline, he cut his teeth in the aviation industry with roles at Ryanair Holdings in senior management positions, and had also served in various management positions at the UK-based professional services network PricewaterhouseCoopers. Bill Franke, the Chair of the Board at Frontier, explained that:

« Jimmy has been an invaluable member of Frontier’s senior leadership team for more than 10 years and has played an instrumental role in the company’s evolution and growth during that time. »

Taking The Airline Forward

Franke went on to say that « we believe Jimmy is uniquely qualified to guide our airline into the future. » This is a sentiment shared by Dempsey himself, who said that « with 13 bases and a strong cost advantage, I believe Frontier is well positioned to deliver unrivaled value to customers across the United States. » While it is a time of change at Frontier, the budget airline has emphasized that its fourth-quarter guidance remains the same.

Dempsey added that he is « honored and excited to lead Frontier Airlines, » thanking « the Board for its trust to shape Frontier’s future with our 13,000+ dedicated and hardworking team members. » The interim CEO has also said that he is « [looking] forward to partnering with our team to write Frontier’s next chapter as we strive to create long-term value for all stakeholders, » in an era when the carrier is weighing up rolling out amenities like WiFi.

As for the departing Chief Executive Officer, Barry L Biffle, Frontier Airlines Chair of the Board Bill Franke said that « the Board of Directors is deeply appreciative of Barry’s leadership and dedicated service to Frontier over the past 11 years. » Franke went on to « thank him for his many contributions during his tenure. »

The Current State Of Frontier Airlines

According to present fleet data made available by ch-aviation, Frontier Airlines currently has a grand total of 172 Airbus jets at its disposal, with an average age of 6.6 years old. This capacity is split between six A320-200s, 86 A320neos, 21 A321-200s, and 59 A321neos. Going forward, it has almost as many aircraft again on order, with 171 planes still to be delivered. This figure consists of 22 A320neos and a whopping 149 A321neos.

As far as how these aircraft are used is concerned, current scheduling data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that Frontier Airlines is set to operate 17,880 flights this month, with these services offering 3,766,104 seats in the process. While the number of flights represents a 2.3% reduction compared to the 18,293 scheduled in December 2024, seat capacity has only fallen by 0.5%, highlighting the rollout of larger aircraft.