Frontier Airlines recorded an $18.7 million profit in December, shoving aside a recession, a collapse in the financial markets and a sharp decline in travel to post its best numbers ever for the month.

It's another indication that the homegrown company, which filed for bankruptcy protection last April, has turned a corner financially. Although Frontier certainly still faces challenges, it has reported profits for two consecutive months after racking up nearly $100 million in losses from April through October.

With the bulk of its reorganization efforts complete, Frontier said it is ratcheting up efforts to secure roughly $125 million in financing to emerge from bankruptcy.

"The road has been a long one . . . and we've taken many punches," Sean Menke, Frontier's chief executive officer, said Wednesday during a meeting with reporters to discuss the results. "I couldn't be prouder of the organization and what has been accomplished."

Menke hopes to begin meeting with potential investors in coming weeks. He said it will take another three to four months to emerge from bankruptcy if and when the company lines up financing.

Frontier, locked in a battle for survival, made drastic changes to its business over the past year by selling planes, cutting positions, hiking various fees, assessing new charges for checked bags, introducing a new fare structure and altering its routes.

It appears that those moves, which include a roughly 16 percent reduction in capacity, have started to pay off.

Aside from the December profit, Frontier managed to climb into the black on a quarterly basis despite a 10 percent decline in revenue. The carrier posted net income of $1.1 million from October through December - its first profit for that period in five years. Excluding special items, the carrier would have had a $7.7 million profit during the quarter and $17 million in net income for the month.

It's a significant change from the last three months of 2007, when Frontier lost $32.5 million. At the time, the deficit ranked as its highest quarterly loss.

Its financial performance of late is encouraging given that other airlines are reporting steep deficits for the fourth quarter.

Aviation analyst Michael Dyment said Frontier is getting a "modest premium" on its fares, in part because of an overall decrease in capacity and also because of its move to charge for bags and other services. It also benefited from the huge drop in oil prices since last summer.

Still, he said Frontier could do more to lower its costs. Additionally, an increase in the price of fuel could knock the carrier off track.

"If a barrel of crude oil goes back up to $65, these guys are going to start losing money," said Dyment of Nexa Capital Partners in Washington, D.C.

Frontier's cash base at the end of December stood at $69.1 million, up from $57.2 million at the end of the previous month.

The company is in a position to bolster that balance after the slow winter months, assuming fuel prices hold steady and economic conditions don't deteriorate much more. That would give Frontier more time to raise financing. And time is what the carrier might need.

"There's obviously some funding available," Dyment said. "But it's very difficult now to get equity, and that's what they're going to need."

Airline's monthly profit/loss since filing for bankruptcy

* April*: -$16.5 million

* May: -$22 million

* June: -$8.8 million

* July: -$3.2 million

* August: -$5.6 million

* Sept.: -$21.5 million

* Oct.: -$20.5 million

* Nov.: +$2.9 million

* Dec.: +$18.7 million

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