Frontier Airlines announced it would add a new seat design to its planes that will result in a 30 percent weight reduction over existing seats.
Not only will the low-cost carrier’s new seats be part of Frontier’s commitment to reducing its environmental footprint, but they will also offer extra comfort and larger tray tables when compared to earlier designs.
The new and improved seats will be featured on 156 Airbus A320neo aircraft currently on order and scheduled for delivery beginning in March 2021. The implementation is expected to be completed by mid-2027 and encompasses around 32,600 seats.
“Frontier Airlines is committed to maintaining our position as America’s Greenest Airline and our current fleet is 43 percent more fuel efficient on average than other U.S. airlines,” Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said. “The lighter weight Recaro seats will result in tens of thousands of gallons of fuel savings on a single aircraft while improving comfort. Less fuel means reduced operating costs which translates to savings that we can pass on to consumers in the form of low fares.”
With the new seats installed, Frontier would save around 31,683 gallons of fuel per year, which equates to approximately 642 million plastic bottles or more than 1.1 billion plastic bags.
To celebrate the fuel-saving announcement, Frontier announced that one million seats would be on sale through December 16, with fares as low as $21 for Discount Den members.
