I travel a lot, so it should come as to great surprise that anything airline related usually catches my attention. On April 28, 2014, the Associated Press ran an interesting article entitled: “Frontier Airlines now charging for carry-on bags.”
Frontier Airlines is an interesting smaller airline based in Denver, Colorado. For awhile they were known for a bunch of talking animal characters like rabbits, bears and eagles. Apparently the talking animals were a really big hit – with the advertising agency, but I guess the talking animals didn’t do much to boost airline ridership.
However, the new executives at the airline are now following another tactic. From now on they will be known as the airline that will pretty much charge for everything it can. According to the piece:
“Passengers flying Frontier Airlines will now have to pay extra to place carry-on bags in the overhead bin or for advance seat assignments.”
They are not alone, and they follow Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air. Frontier will charge for carry-on, checked baggage, overhead bin baggage, advanced seating assignments in addition to $1.99 for a can of soda. If you are not flying direct but have a connecting flight, you will get charged for two seating assignments – and apparently, everything else. Of course, if you are an elite member (which means you fly them a lot), you can get reductions on some of those fees. The problem is that in order to achieve that “milestone,” you will have had to pay a ton of extra fees for the privilege of getting there. You have to go through the process annually!
There is great news though, if you can pack all of your clothes into the briefcase you cram under your seat that is at least still free! I don’t know if Frontier would mind if I wore a suit over a suit, three pairs of underwear and three pairs of socks. The shoes might be a problem, but maybe I can figure something out with the shoes as well.
Again, the article states:
“Frontier says that in exchange for these new fees, it is lowering its base fare by an average of 12 percent.”
What’s a Base?
The “pay as you go” airlines seem cheaper than the major airlines in the same way that renting an electric scooter seems cheaper than renting a Lexus SUV to drive cross country. Both will get you to where want to go – eventually, but it might be a little difficult to bring a suitcase, food, something to drink and even a bit of music aboard the scooter, especially if you plan on stopping along the way.
My point is that the new, cheaper fares may not be quite as cheap as advertised. In fact, it might be a wash. Or, it could be worse. While it is true that a “pay as you go” airline initially seems cheaper, if you figure in all of the fees you’re not saving very much at all especially when you factor in the inconvenience.
This blog’s purpose is not to trash Frontier Airlines, but to question how companies ethically function these days. From banks to mortgage lenders to car dealers to computer sales, the so-called “base prices” are not enough to realistically get you where you need to go. They are inducements meant to entice, but are not ethical representations of the true picture.
There is little I can say to change the course of the profit motive, but the old adage of buyer beware has never been more important than it is now. Money is tight for everyone; don’t leap unless you fully want to understand where they ethically want to take you. I don’t know if this is the correct path for Frontier to take but for now, the only animal I hear is the laughing hyena.
YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!
“You have to go through the process annually!”
Same with every other frequent flyer program.
“cheaper fares may not be quite as cheap as advertised”
All fees and extras are advertised at the time of purchase.
““base prices” are not enough to realistically get you where you need to go.”
I’ve flown Spirit, Frontier, and Allegiant several times for weekend trips, and never paid any fees, because I don’t bring three bags or ask to select my seat.
There’s hardly an ethical breach here. If you don’t like an airline, that’s fine, but you can’t go around calling them unethical because it didn’t meet your standards for service.
I never fly frontier now. I feel misled and deceived and normally have to end up abandoning the purchase 10 minutes when they’ve finally added all the fees and by that time it ends up being cheaper to fly almost any other airline. This feels like legally it’s unethical to mislead customers like this.