Finally a good story about airline fees. It seems like there is a story about airline fees going up every other day. Frontier Airlines is doing something different. It’s actual good news for travelers.
The discount airline recently merged with Midwest. Initially, the biggest good-consumer news regarding the new carrier was that Frontier had decided to keep Midwest’s iconic chocolate chip cookies.
Now Frontier has changed their policy to allow free advance seat assignments, even for the lowest economy class passengers. (Previously most passengers on discount tickets could not obtain a seat assignment until they checked in online.)
The airline is still charging additional fees for seats with extra legroom, but for travelers on a budget, this is a nice improvement. The extra legroom area – known as “STRETCH” seating – costs a maximum of $25 a segment for the lowest fares. (Although unlike United’s higher-priced economy-plus seating, these seats are only available to non-frequent fliers within 24 hours of departure.
In addition, the fee for changing a flight on the day of travel goes from $100 down to $50. These same-day fees always seem particularly harsh anyway, since at that point it’s almost a standby situation.
Anyone getting a confirmed seat on the day of departure is quite likely getting a seat that would have gone out empty anyway. Plus, the airline gets a bonus — the passenger may be changing from a flight that might have been full.
Finally, Frontier is also dropping the $25 ticketing service fee for those who buy their ticket over the phone or at the airport.
All in all, these are not earth-shattering changes. Business travelers might barely notice, except they require a little less accounting paperwork with an expense report. But for leisure travelers, especially families traveling together, these fes can certainly add up.
Perhaps, since Frontier is just completing a merger with Midwest, they feel an special need for good public relations. Whatever the reason, it’s a rare consumer-friendly move in a troubled industry.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
