Frontier Airlines (F9, Denver International) has agreed with AerCap to return twenty-four A320-200Ns in the second quarter of 2026, in return for ten future sale-leaseback transactions for deliveries scheduled for 2028-2029. The airline also deferred deliveries of sixty-nine new A320neo family aircraft from 2027-2030 to 2031-2033.

The A320neo that will be returned have their leases originally expiring between 2028 and 2034.

"This agreement represents a significant milestone in our new strategy to improve the productivity of the airline by a disciplined rightsizing of our fleet. We are delighted AerCap will remain one of our largest lessors, and we look forward to expanding our partnership with an additional ten sale‑leaseback transactions," president and CEO Jimmy Dempsey said.

The airline said that the AerCap agreement and the Airbus deliveries' deferral will both be finalised during the first quarter of 2026. The carrier expects the two deals, together with other cost-saving measures, will generate cost savings of around USD200 million by 2027 - with the lease returns alone generating around USD90 million in annual rent savings - while reducing long-term annual capacity growth to around 10%.

"The update to our delivery profile and underlying growth rate helps to minimise the proportion of new market activity while supporting ongoing productivity and operational reliability. Our plan to rightsize the fleet directly contributes to my next strategic priority: strengthening our cost discipline," Dempsey said during a quarterly earnings call.

The low-cost carrier currently operates ninety A320-200Ns, of which 25 are leased from AerCap. The remainder of the type's fleet is sourced from 16 other lessors, according to ch-aviation data. While AerCap is the largest lessor for Frontier, BOC Aviation and Carlyle Aviation Partners also lease double-digit numbers of A320-200Ns to the airline (20 and 13, respectively).

Frontier Airlines also operates six A320-200s, twenty-one A321-200s, and sixty A321-200NX (including two dry-leased from AerCap). The LCC does not own any of the aircraft. The airline has firm orders for six additional A320-200Ns and 148 A321-200NX. It also plans to take at least 12 more A320-200Ns on lease from BOC Aviation.

The airline said it expected to keep the fleet size stable this year, as new deliveries will offset the 24 early lease returns.

The fleet optimisation comes amid recent reports of a potential Frontier-Spirit Airlines merger, which would allow the latter to exit its second Chapter 11 restructuring in a year. Frontier Airlines posted a USD137 million net loss for 2025.