Employee Retirement Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Employee Retirement Plans

Employee Retirement Plans

The Company recorded $65 million, $56 million and $46 million in expense related to matching contributions to employee retirement plans for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. This is recorded as a component of salaries, wages and benefits in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations.

Frontier 401(k) Plan

The Company sponsors The Frontier Airlines, Inc. 401(k) Retirement Plan (the “Frontier 401(k) Plan”) under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. This plan excludes pilots, who are covered under a separate plan discussed below. Under the Frontier 401(k) Plan, the Company matches 50% of each eligible participant’s contribution, up to 2% of their compensation for maintenance employees and up to 6% of their compensation for all other employees, excluding flight attendants and dispatchers, whose contributions are matched at 100% of up to 6% of their compensation. Contributions for employees begin after 60 days of employment and vest 25% per year over four years. Participants are entitled to receive distributions of all vested amounts beginning at age 59 1/2. The plan is subject to the annual IRS elective deferral limit of $22,500 for 2023, $20,500 for 2022 and $19,500 for 2021.

FAPA Plan

The Company also established the Frontier Airlines, Inc. Pilots Retirement Plan (the “FAPA Plan”), a defined contribution retirement plan for pilots covered under the collective bargaining agreement with the Frontier Airlines Pilots Association (“FAPA”). Effective September 1, 2016, pilots are no longer represented by FAPA and are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (“ALPA”), however the FAPA Plan remained in effect under the collective bargaining agreement with ALPA. Under the latest collective bargaining agreement with the pilots, effective as of January 2019 for a five year period, the Company match no longer occurs under this plan, and instead, the Company makes nonelective contributions on behalf of each eligible pilot equal to a percentage of the pilot’s compensation, ranging from 12% to 15% over the term of the collective bargaining agreement (see Note 12). The nonelective contributions are subject to vesting based on years of service. Participants are entitled to receive distributions of all vested amounts beginning at age 59 1/2. The plan is subject to the annual IRS elective deferral limit of $22,500 for 2023, $20,500 for 2022 and $19,500 for 2021.