Exhibit 99.01
FRONTIER AIRLINES REPORTS FISCAL SECOND QUARTER 2006 RESULTS
DENVER, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Frontier Airlines, Inc.
(Nasdaq: FRNT) today reported a net income of $6.9 million, or $.18 per
diluted common share, for the airline's second fiscal quarter ended September
30, 2005 compared to a net loss of $2.1 million, or $0.06 per diluted common
share, for the same period last year. Included in the net income for the three
months ended September 30, 2005 were the following items before the effect of
income taxes: unrealized gains on fuel hedges of $0.3 million and net gains of
$0.6 million related primarily to the sale of Boeing assets held for sale.
These items, net of income taxes, increased net income by $0.02 per diluted
share. Included in the net loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2004 were
the following items before the effect of income taxes: a loss of $74,000 on
the sale of other assets; a write-down of $4.2 million of the carrying value
of expendable Boeing 737 inventory; and an unrealized gain on fuel hedges of
$4.1 million. These items, net of income taxes, decreased the airline's net
loss by approximately $.01 per diluted share.
Chief Executive Officer's Comments
Frontier President and CEO Jeff Potter said, "While we can point to
numbers and speak to yields and revenue as the heroes of this quarter's solid
performance, there is no doubt in my mind that our return to profitability is
a direct reflection of the hard work, dedication and sheer excellence of our
employees. Our on-time performance this quarter was one of the best in the
industry, and across the board we are providing a customer service experience
second to none. The end result is that customers are responding in growing
numbers, and not just in Denver, but across all of our markets. We generated
a significant 16 percent year-over-year increase in the number of mainline
passengers we carried, and quite simply, we are running as good an airline as
we ever have in our history.
"Although a quarter as strong as this is certainly cause to celebrate and
for our employees to congratulate each other on a job well done, we recognize
that the ills that continue to plague this industry haven't disappeared. Fuel
remains at historic highs and the market still suffers from overcapacity
leading to general weakness in fares. We don't anticipate a solution to these
issues in the coming quarter, and we expect that high fuel costs and weak
fares will adversely affect earnings for our fiscal third quarter 2006."
Operating Highlights
Mainline passenger revenue increased 21.9 percent as mainline revenue
passenger miles (RPMs) grew at a rate of 11.6 percent during the fiscal second
quarter, while mainline capacity growth as measured by mainline ASMs increased
5.7 percent from the same quarter last year. As a result, the airline's
mainline load factor was 77.1 percent for its fiscal second quarter of 2006,
4.2 load factor points more than the airline's mainline load factor of
72.9 percent during the same quarter last year. The airline's mainline
breakeven load factor, excluding special items, for the fiscal second quarter
2006 decreased 0.6 load factor points from 73.4 percent to 72.8 percent.
Frontier's mainline breakeven load factor, excluding special items, decreased
from the prior comparable period principally as a result of an 8.8 percent
increase in mainline passenger yield and a 29.5 percent increase in mainline
other revenue partially offset by an 8.1 percent increase in mainline cost per
available seat mile (CASM).
During the fiscal second quarter 2006, the airline's mainline passenger
revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 14.9 percent to 9.01 cents
from the same quarter last year. The increase in mainline RASM was due to the
combination of the 8.8 percent increase in mainline yield per RPM and the 4.2
point load factor increase. Mainline average length of haul decreased
3.7 percent on a year-over-year basis, primarily because the prior year
included traffic from the Company's focus city, Los Angeles, which the Company
subsequently discontinued.
Mainline fuel cost per gallon, excluding unrealized hedging gains, was
$1.95 during the quarter ended September 30, 2005, compared to $1.41 during
the quarter ended September 30, 2004, an increase of 38.3 percent.
The airline's mainline CASM for the fiscal second quarter, excluding fuel,
was 5.86 cents compared to 6.16 cents for the same quarter last year, a
decrease of 4.9 percent. Included in CASM, excluding fuel, for the quarter
ended September 30, 2005 was a reduction of sales and promotion expense of
$3.6 million or 0.14 cents per ASM, due to a favorable sales and use tax
credit on the taxation of ticketing services and $0.6 million, or 0.02 cents
per ASM, in net gains related to the sale of Boeing assets held for sale.
Included in CASM excluding fuel, for the quarter ended September 30, 2004 was
..18 cents per ASM of impairments and losses on sales of Boeing assets.
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Paul Tate discussed the
airline's quarter ended September 30, 2005 unit costs stating, "Even when one
excludes these large cost credits discussed above, our CASM ex-fuel further
demonstrates our classification as one of the industry's low cost producers,
particularly in light of the 14.9 percent year-over-year passenger unit
revenue increase and 3.7 percent length of haul decrease."
The airline's current unrestricted cash and short term investments and
working capital as of September 30, 2005 was $144.1 million and $41.8 million,
respectively. This compares to the Company's unrestricted cash and working
capital for the same period last year of 160.1 million and $67.3 million,
respectively.
The airline's fleet in service on September 30, 2005 consisted of 16 owned
Airbus A319 and A318 aircraft and 33 leased Airbus A319 and A318 aircraft.
Business developments during the quarter included:
* Took delivery of one new owned Airbus A319 aircraft.
* Began Frontier JetExpress service to Dayton, Ohio and Fresno,
California.
* Filed a "shelf" registration statement with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), which can be used to periodically sell up to
$250,000,000 in preferred and common stock, debt and other securities.
* Requested approval from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to offer
service between Denver and Acapulco and Indianapolis and Cancun.
Subsequently, approval was granted for service between Denver and
Acapulco, with service to begin December 17, 2005.
* Frontier's flight attendants voted down the Association of Flight
Attendants union for the fourth time.
* Announced the hiring of John Happ as Senior Vice President of Marketing
and Planning.
Potter concluded, "We anticipate that as we enter new markets and add
frequencies to our existing markets, consumers will continue to recognize the
value of Frontier's low fares and superior product with DirecTV, new aircraft,
more legroom, assigned seating and superior customer service.
"However, regardless of what is our best financial performance in seven
quarters, we know that the battles in the airline industry will be won and
lost on cost, and that will continue to be our focus moving forward. We have
a daunting task in this year's December quarter particularly to offset the
enormous fuel price increases we have incurred since the first of two
devastating hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast refineries in late August that, by
our estimates, will increase our fuel cost per gallon by 20 percent in the
December quarter 2005 compared to this year's September quarter. This is in
addition to the negative revenue impact caused by the disruption to our
scheduled service to Cancun, Mexico. As a result, we anticipate a December
quarterly loss that likely will exceed our September quarter profit in
magnitude."
Senior leadership will host a conference call to discuss Frontier's
quarterly earnings on October 28, 2005, at 9:00 a.m. Mountain Standard Time.
The call is available via the World Wide Web on the airline's Web site at
www.frontierairlines.com or using the following URL:
http://www.investorcalendar.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID=96274.
Currently in its 12th year of operations, Denver-based Frontier Airlines
is the second largest jet service carrier at Denver International Airport,
employing approximately 4,600 aviation professionals. With 49 aircraft and
the youngest Airbus fleet in North America, Frontier offers 24 channels of
DIRECTV(R) service in every seatback along with 33 inches of legroom in an all
coach configuration. In conjunction with Frontier JetExpress operated by
Horizon Air, Frontier operates routes linking its Denver hub to
47 destinations in 28 states spanning the nation from coast to coast and to
five cities in Mexico. Frontier's maintenance and engineering department has
received the Federal Aviation Administration's highest award, the Diamond
Certificate of Excellence, in recognition of 100 percent of its maintenance
and engineering employees completing advanced aircraft maintenance training
programs, for six consecutive years. In July 2005, Frontier ranked as one of
the "Top 10 Domestic Airlines" as determined by readers of Travel & Leisure
magazine. Frontier provides capacity information and other operating
statistics on its Web site, which may be viewed at www.frontierairlines.com.
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts
may be considered forward-looking statements as that item is defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements
are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from these forward looking statements. Many of
these risks and uncertainties cannot be predicted with accuracy and some might
not even be anticipated. Some of the factors that could significantly impact
the forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not
limited to: the timing of, and expense associated with, expansion and
modification of our operations in accordance with our business strategy or in
response to competitive pressures or other factors; failure of our new markets
to perform as anticipated; the inability to achieve a level of revenue through
fares sufficient to obtain profitability due to competition from other air
carriers and excess capacity in the markets we serve; the inability to obtain
sufficient gates at Denver International Airport to accommodate the expansion
of our operations; general economic factors and behavior of the fare-paying
public and its potential impact on our liquidity; terrorist attacks or other
incidents that could cause the public to question the safety and/or efficiency
of air travel; hurricanes and their impact on oil production, operational
disruptions, including weather; industry consolidation; the impact of labor
disputes; enhanced security requirements; changes in the government's policy
regarding relief or assistance to the airline industry; the economic
environment of the airline industry generally; increased federal scrutiny of
low-fare carriers generally that may increase our operating costs or otherwise
adversely affect us; actions of competing airlines, such as increasing
capacity and pricing actions of United Airlines ("United"), Southwest
Airlines, and other competitors, particularly in some of our Mexico
destinations due to the increase in the number of domestic airlines authorized
to serve Mexico markets from the United States of America under recent changes
to the bilateral agreement in place between the two countries; the
availability of suitable aircraft, which may inhibit our ability to achieve
operating economies and implement our business strategy; the unavailability
of, or inability to secure upon acceptable terms, debt or operating lease
financing necessary to acquire aircraft which we have ordered; uncertainties
regarding aviation fuel prices, and various risk factors to our business
discussed in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Any forward-looking statement is qualified by reference to these risks and
factors. These risks and factors are not exclusive, and the Company
undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of
this press release. Additional information regarding these and other factors
may be contained in the Company's SEC filings, including without limitation,
the Company's Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended March 31, 2005. The
Company's filings are available from the Securities and Exchange Commission or
may be obtained through the Company's website, www.frontierairlines.com.
FRONTIER AIRLINES, INC.
SELECTED BALANCE SHEET DATA
(unaudited)
Quarter Ended Quarter Ended
September 30, September 30,
2005 2004
------------- -------------
(in thousands)
Balance Sheet Data:
Cash, cash equivalents and
short-term investments $ 144,096 $ 160,053
Current assets 274,006 265,019
Total assets 844,554 784,122
Current liabilities 232,162 197,702
Long-term debt 324,798 292,049
Total liabilities 599,259 533,038
Stockholders' equity 245,295 251,084
Working capital 41,844 67,317
FRONTIER AIRLINES, INC.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE THREE MONTHS AND SIX MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 AND 2004
(unaudited)
FRONTIER AIRLINES, INC.
Statements of Operations
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
-------------------------------- --------------------------------
September 30, September 30, September 30, September 30,
2005 2004 2005 2004
-------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
Revenues:
Passenger $ 229,396,918 $ 188,173,402 $ 437,464,401 $ 357,610,883
Passenger-
regional
partner 23,390,798 21,909,768 46,344,828 41,036,213
Cargo 1,372,811 1,246,009 2,591,745 2,673,504
Other 4,262,952 3,105,595 8,432,566 5,537,244
Total
revenues 258,423,479 214,434,774 494,833,540 406,857,844
Operating
expenses:
Flight
operations 34,438,318 31,772,649 68,909,601 63,561,813
Aircraft fuel
expense 70,912,494 44,715,069 130,742,042 84,718,251
Aircraft
lease
expense 23,471,531 22,307,400 46,902,912 41,198,226
Aircraft and
traffic
servicing 34,113,637 31,229,011 65,866,881 62,921,215
Maintenance 18,517,694 19,261,318 38,528,352 38,155,915
Promotion
and sales 18,645,214 19,250,304 40,517,127 39,088,980
General and
adminis-
trative 12,070,562 12,033,531 24,321,629 22,327,775
Operating
expenses -
regional
partner 26,307,635 23,568,339 50,425,522 44,861,774
Aircraft
lease and
facility
exit costs 52,627 -- 3,364,515 --
(Gains) losses
on sales of
assets, net (603,139) 74,404 (691,177) 604,231
Impairment
and other
related
charges -- 4,213,565 -- 4,601,200
Depreciation 6,862,322 6,606,142 13,534,399 13,224,581
Total
operating
expenses 244,788,895 215,031,732 482,421,803 415,263,961
Operating
income 13,634,584 (596,958) 12,411,737 (8,406,117)
Nonoperating
income
(expense):
Interest
income 1,911,084 785,699 3,275,482 1,356,269
Interest
expense (5,043,696) (3,112,843) (9,161,814) (6,020,859)
Other, net (47,786) (103,353) (150,424) (168,717)
Total
non-
operating
expense,
net (3,180,398) (2,430,497) (6,036,756) (4,833,307)
Income (loss)
before income
tax expense 10,454,186 (3,027,455) 6,374,981 (13,239,424)
Income tax
expense
(benefit) 3,548,834 (945,485) 2,203,377 (4,583,736)
Net income
(loss) $ 6,905,352 $ (2,081,970) $ 4,171,604 $ (8,655,688)
Income (loss)
per share:
Basic $ 0.19 $ (0.06) $ 0.12 $ (0.24)
Diluted $ 0.18 $ (0.06) $ 0.11 $ (0.24)
Weighted
average
shares of
common stock
outstanding
Basic 36,166,329 35,609,942 36,097,371 35,606,702
Diluted 38,531,436 35,609,942 38,452,645 35,606,702
FRONTIER AIRLINES, INC.
COMPARATIVE OPERATING STATISTICS
(unaudited)
Quarters Ended
September 30,
-------------------------
2005 2004 Change
----------- ----------- ---------
Selected Operating Data -
Mainline:
Passenger revenue (000s) $ 229,397 $ 188,173 21.9%
Revenue passengers
carried (000s) 2,028 1,750 15.9%
Revenue passenger miles
(RPMs) (000s) 1,940,880 1,738,682 11.6%
Available seat miles
(ASMs) (000s) 2,518,515 2,383,573 5.7%
Passenger load factor 77.1% 72.9% 4.2pts.
Break-even load factor (1) 72.8% 73.4% (0.6)pts.
Block hours 50,976 47,086 8.3%
Departures 21,189 18,937 11.9%
Average seats per departure 129.4 130.3 (0.7)%
Average stage length 919 968 (5.1)%
Average length of haul 957 994 (3.7)%
Average daily block hour
utilization 11.4 11.2 1.8%
Yield per RPM (cents) (2) 11.69 10.74 8.8%
Total yield per RPM (cents) 12.11 11.07 9.4%
Yield per ASM (cents) (3) 9.01 7.84 14.9%
Total yield per ASM (cents) 9.33 8.08 15.5%
Cost per ASM (cents) 8.68 8.03 8.1%
Fuel expense per ASM (cents) 2.82 1.87 50.8%
Cost per ASM excluding fuel
(cents) (4) 5.86 6.16 (4.9)%
Average fare $ 103.47 $ 100.05 3.4%
Average aircraft in service 48.8 45.5 7.3%
Aircraft in service at end
of period 49 44 11.4%
Average age of aircraft at
end of period 2.1 2.7 (22.2)%
Average fuel cost per gallon $ 1.94 $ 1.29 50.4%
Fuel gallons consumed (000's) 36,471 34,641 5.3%
Six Months Ended
September 30,
-----------------------------
2005 2004 Change
----------- ----------- ---------
Selected Operating Data -
Mainline:
Passenger revenue (000s) $ 437,464 $ 357,611 22.3%
Revenue passengers
carried (000s) 3,912 3,334 17.3%
Revenue passenger miles
(RPMs) (000s) 3,780,979 3,303,269 14.5%
Available seat miles
(ASMs) (000s) 4,864,412 4,595,225 5.9%
Passenger load factor 77.7% 71.9% 5.8pts.
Break-even load factor (1) 75.3% 73.5% 1.8pts.
Block hours 98,355 91,060 8.0%
Departures 40,503 36,587 10.7%
Average seats per departure 129.3 130.4 (0.8)%
Average stage length 929 966 (3.8)%
Average length of haul 967 991 (2.4)%
Average daily block hour
utilization 11.4 11.4 --
Yield per RPM (cents) (2) 11.47 10.76 6.6%
Total yield per RPM (cents) 11.86 11.07 7.1%
Yield per ASM (cents) (3) 8.92 7.74 15.2%
Total yield per ASM (cents) 9.22 7.96 15.8%
Cost per ASM (cents) 8.88 8.06 10.2%
Fuel expense per ASM (cents) 2.69 1.84 46.2%
Cost per ASM excluding fuel
(cents) (4) 6.19 6.22 (0.5)%
Average fare $ 102.79 $ 100.26 2.5%
Average aircraft in service 47.2 43.5 8.5%
Aircraft in service at end
of period 49 44 11.4%
Average age of aircraft at
end of period 2.1 2.7 (22.2)%
Average fuel cost per gallon $ 1.86 $ 1.27 46.5%
Fuel gallons consumed (000's) 70,253 66,759 5.2%
FRONTIER AIRLINES, INC.
Comparative operating statistics, unaudited
Continued
Quarters Ended
September 30,
-------------------------
2005 2004 Change
----------- ----------- ---------
Selected Operating Data -
Regional Partner:
Passenger revenue (000s) 23,391 21,910 6.8%
Revenue passengers carried (000s) 234 233 0.4%
Revenue passenger miles
(RPMs) (000s) 148,956 142,157 4.8%
Available seat miles (ASMs)
(000s) 204,432 190,771 7.2%
Passenger load factor 72.9% 74.5% (1.6)pts.
Yield per RPM (cents) 15.70 15.41 1.9%
Yield per ASM (cents) 11.44 11.48 (0.3)%
Cost per ASM (cents) 12.87 12.35 4.2%
Average fare $ 99.99 $ 93.98 6.4%
Aircraft in service at end
of period 9 9 --
Quarters Ended
September 30,
-------------------------
2005 2004 Change
----------- ----------- ---------
Selected Operating Data -
Combined:
Passenger revenue (000s) $ 252,788 $ 210,083 20.3%
Revenue passengers carried (000s) 2,262 1,983 14.1%
Revenue passenger miles
(RPMs) (000s) 2,089,836 1,880,839 11.1%
Available seat miles (ASMs) (000s) 2,722,947 2,574,344 5.8%
Passenger load factor 76.7% 73.1% 3.6pts.
Yield per RPM (cents) (2) 11.98 11.10 7.9%
Total yield per RPM (cents) 12.37 11.40 8.5%
Yield per ASM (cents) 9.19 8.11 13.3%
Total yield per ASM (cents) 9.49 8.33 13.9%
Cost per ASM (cents) 8.99 8.35 7.7%
Six Months Ended
September 30,
-------------------------
2005 2004 Change
----------- ----------- ---------
Selected Operating Data -
Regional Partner:
Passenger revenue (000s) 46,345 41,036 12.9%
Revenue passengers carried (000s) 467 436 7.1%
Revenue passenger miles
(RPMs) (000s) 285,713 273,711 4.4%
Available seat miles (ASMs) (000s) 393,117 368,349 6.7%
Passenger load factor 72.7% 74.3% (1.6)pts.
Yield per RPM (cents) 16.22 14.99 8.2%
Yield per ASM (cents) 11.79 11.14 5.8%
Cost per ASM (cents) 12.83 12.18 5.3%
Average fare $ 99.28 $ 94.10 5.5%
Aircraft in service at end
of period 9 9 --
Six Months Ended
September 30,
-------------------------
2005 2004 Change
----------- ----------- ---------
Selected Operating Data -
Combined:
Passenger revenue (000s) $ 483,809 $ 398,647 21.4%
Revenue passengers carried (000s) 4,379 3,770 16.2%
Revenue passenger miles
(RPMs) (000s) 4,066,692 3,576,980 13.7%
Available seat miles (ASMs) (000s) 5,257,529 4,963,574 5.9%
Passenger load factor 77.3% 72.1% 5.2pts.
Yield per RPM (cents) (2) 11.81 11.09 6.5%
Total yield per RPM (cents) 12.17 11.37 7.0%
Yield per ASM (cents) 9.13 7.99 14.3%
Total yield per ASM (cents) 9.41 8.20 14.8%
Cost per ASM (cents) 9.18 8.37 9.7%
1. "Break-even load factor" is the passenger load factor that will result in
operating revenues being equal to operating expenses, net of certain
adjustments, assuming constant yield per RPM and no change in ASMs.
Break-even load factor as presented above may be deemed a non-GAAP financial
measure under regulations issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
We believe that presentation of break-even load factor calculated after
certain adjustments is useful to investors because the elimination of
special or unusual items allows a meaningful period-to-period comparison.
Furthermore, in preparing operating plans and forecasts we rely on an
analysis of break-even load factor exclusive of these special and unusual
items. Our presentation of non-GAAP results should not be viewed as a
substitute for our financial or statistical results based on GAAP, and other
airlines may not necessarily compute break-even load factor in a manner that
is consistent with our computation.
A reconciliation of the components of the calculation of break-even load
factor is as follows:
Three months Ended Six Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
------------------------- -------------------------
2005 2004 2005 2004
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
(In thousands) (In thousands)
Net (income) loss $ (6,905) $ 2,082 $ (4,172) $ 8,656
Income tax (expense)
benefit (3,549) 945 (2,203) 4,584
Passenger revenue 229,397 188,173 437,464 357,611
Revenue - regional
partner 23,391 21,910 46,345 41,036
Charter revenue (2,497) (1,384) (3,708) (2,040)
Operating expenses
- regional partner (26,308) (23,568) (50,426) (44,862)
Passenger revenue -
mainline (excluding
charter and regional
partner revenue)
required to break
even (based on
GAAP amounts) $ 213,529 $ 188,158 $ 423,300 $ 364,985
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Aircraft and
facility lease
exit costs -- -- (3,365) --
Gains (losses)
on sales of assets 603 (74) 691 (604)
Impairment and other
related charges -- (4,214) -- (4,601)
Unrealized derivative
gain 281 4,111 (726) 3,634
Passenger revenue-
mainline (excluding
charter and regional
partner revenue)
required to break-even
(based on adjusted
amounts) $ 214,413 $ 187,981 $ 419,900 $ 363,414
The calculation of the break-even load factor follows:
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
------------------------- -------------------------
2004 2003 2004 2003
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
(In thousands) (In thousands)
Calculation of
mainline break-even
load factor using
GAAP amounts:
Passenger revenue
- mainline
(excluding
charter and
regional
partner
revenue)
required
to break
even
(based on
GAAP amounts)
($000s) $ 213,529 $ 188,158 $ 423,300 $ 364,985
Mainline yield
per RPM (cents) 11.69 10.74 11.47 10.76
Mainline revenue
passenger miles
(000s) to break
even assuming
constant yield
per RPM 1,826,595 1,751,937 3,690,497 3,392,054
Mainline
available
seat miles
(000's) 2,518,515 2,383,573 4,864,412 4,595,225
Mainline
break-even load
factor using
GAAP amounts 72.5% 73.5% 75.9% 73.8%
Calculation of
mainline break-even
load factor using
Non-GAAP amounts:
Passenger revenue
(excluding
charter and
regional partner
revenue) required
to break even
(based on
adjusted amounts)
($000s) $ 214,413 $ 187,981 $ 419,900 $ 363,414
Mainline yield
per RPM (cents) 11.69 10.74 11.47 10.76
Mainline revenue
passenger miles
(000s) to break
even assuming
constant yield
per RPM 1,834,157 1,750,289 3,660,854 3,377,454
Mainline
available
seat miles
(000's) 2,518,515 2,383,573 4,864,412 4,595,225
Mainline
break-even
load factor
using non-GAAP
amounts 72.8% 73.4% 75.3% 73.5%
2. "Yield per RPM" is determined by dividing passenger revenues (excluding
charter revenue) by revenue passenger miles.
3. For purposes of these yield calculations, charter revenue is excluded from
passenger revenue. These figures may be deemed non-GAAP financial measures
under regulations issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission. We
believe that presentation of yield excluding charter revenue is useful to
investors because charter flights are not included in RPMs or ASMs.
Furthermore, in preparing operating plans and forecasts, we rely on an
analysis of yield exclusive of charter revenue. Our presentation of non-GAAP
financial measures should not be viewed as a substitute for our financial or
statistical results based on GAAP. The calculation of passenger revenue
excluding charter revenue is as follows:
Quarters Ended Six Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
------------------------- -------------------------
2005 2004 2005 2004
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Passenger revenues
- mainline, as
reported $ 229,397 $ 188,173 $ 437,464 $ 357,611
Less: charter
revenue 2,497 1,384 3,708 2,040
Passenger revenues
- mainline excluding
charter 226,900 186,789 433,756 355,571
Add: Passenger
revenues -
regional partner 23,391 21,910 46,345 41,036
Passenger revenues,
system combined $ 250,291 $ 208,699 $ 480,101 $ 396,607
4. This may be deemed a non-GAAP financial measure under regulations issued by
the Securities and Exchange Commission. We believe the presentation of
financial information excluding fuel expense is useful to investors because
we believe that fuel expense tends to fluctuate more than other operating
expenses, it facilitates comparison of results of operations between current
and past periods and enables investors to better forecast future trends in
our operations. Furthermore, in preparing operating plans and forecasts, we
rely, in part, on trends in our historical results of operations excluding
fuel expense. However, our presentation of non-GAAP financial measures
should not be viewed as a substitute for our financial results determined in
accordance with GAAP.
SOURCE Frontier Airlines, Inc.
-0- 10/27/2005
/CONTACT: Joe Hodas of Frontier Airlines, +1-720-374-4504,
jhodas@flyfrontier.com/
/Web site: http://www.investorcalendar.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID=96274 /
/Web site: http://www.frontierairlines.com /