Frontier Airlines CEO Dave Siegel has stepped down from his position, effective immediately, citing personal reasons, the carrier announced on Wednesday.
According to Jack Nicas of the Wall Street Journal, the Denver-based airline's board of directors has appointed Chairman Bill Franke and President Barry Biffle to run the airline in the wake of Siegel's departure. Franke will manage the company's strategy and finances, while Biffle will oversee daily operations and assist Franke on strategy.
Siegel's sudden resignation comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Transportation's latest Air Travel Consumer Report, which revealed Frontier ranked last among the nation's leading airlines in on-time performance in March 2015 and toward the top in customer complaints.
According to the report, just 65.2 percent of Frontier's flights arrived on time this past March.
"We've been disappointed in our performance over the last year and, to be frank, really the last several years," said Biffle in an interview via Nicas. "[Franke] and I are aligned on the strategy, and I think this will work really well."
The company's leaders have placed a large portion of the blame on the hectic transition to a new reservations system that has caused problems and resulted in some customers spending a significant amount of time on hold with the airline's call center.
Prior to this week's resignation, Siegel had been at the helm of Frontier since January 2012, helping transition the airline to an ultra-low-cost-carrier model last year.
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