Considered one of America’s high finances airways has a brand new chief in cost.
Frontier Airways on Thursday introduced it tapped James Dempsey as its new CEO, following the departure of longtime chief govt Barry Biffle late final yr.
Dempsey had been serving as interim CEO since December and now will proceed within the position completely.
The transfer comes at a pivotal second for the Denver-based, ultra-low-cost provider.
Shortly earlier than the vacations, experiences surfaced that Frontier was, as soon as once more, in talks a few potential merger with high finances competitor Spirit Airways (which is presently mired in Chapter 11 chapter proceedings).
Frontier, in the meantime, is on the cusp of rolling out its first-ever, first-class seats, and it has overhauled some components of the enterprise mannequin it used for the previous two years. These strikes have come amid headwinds for the low-cost airline {industry} as shoppers have proven a permanent willingness to pay extra for premium seats which can be an indicator of their conventional rivals.
On the identical time, Frontier has labored to fortify its Frontier Miles loyalty program and up the attraction of its cobranded bank card — vital components of the enterprise mannequin for practically each main provider as we speak.
Learn extra: Frontier Miles elite standing: What it’s and earn it
It’s not clear how the management change on the high of Frontier will have an effect on any of those initiatives.
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Dempsey, an {industry} veteran, has spent greater than a decade in management roles at Frontier, most not too long ago serving because the airline’s president.
Earlier than that, although, he was on the management staff at an airline frequent worldwide vacationers are seemingly very accustomed to: Ryanair, the European low-cost provider.

“His experience will assist us capitalize on the alternatives we see forward, protect our industry-leading price benefit and information Frontier into the longer term,” Frontier Group Holdings board chair Invoice Franke mentioned of Dempsey in a press release asserting the information Thursday.
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