Frontier Fee Changes - Charging for carryon bags and drinks

[elfbo]

I just got this in my email and wanted to give everyone a heads up.
If you buy from a 3rd party website, or buy a cheap fare they are going to charge you money for things most airlines let you have for free. Carry on bags and drinks!

Upcoming Policy Changes

Beginning in the summer of 2013, we are making changes that will allow us to continue offering low fares while improving the travel experience for our most loyal customers who book through FlyFrontier.com. In the past, you have booked Frontier travel on other websites, so we encourage you to visit FlyFrontier.com for our best travel value — in fact we guarantee it with our Best Fare Guarantee. Please see the details on these upcoming changes noted below.

Carry-on Baggage
In response to customer complaints that finding overhead bin space for carry-on bags has become increasingly difficult, we will be introducing a fee for carry-on bags for customers who buy Basic fares through third-party websites starting this summer. All customers who purchase tickets directly on FlyFrontier.com will continue to receive a free carry-on bag in the overhead bin. All Basic fare tickets booked before this policy change takes effect, which will be announced at a later date, will not incur a carry-on fee regardless of travel date.

Checked Bags
For customers who book Basic and Economy tickets on or after June 1, 2013 for travel on or after July 11, 2013, the fee to check a first bag will remain $20 when purchased during online check-in at FlyFrontier.com However, the fee will increase to $25 when purchased at airport check-in. Second bag fees for Economy and Basic bags remain unchanged at $20. Our Classic and Classic Plus ticket purchasers will continue to receive two free checked bags.

Onboard Beverages
Effective July 1, 2013, customers who purchase Economy or Basic fares will be charged $1.99 for coffee, tea, soda and juice. All customers will now receive a full can of soda or juice, and customers choosing coffee will be offered free refills. With this change, we will be making improvements to our beverage selection, including introducing a premium tea brand and Boyer’s coffee, a premium Colorado brand. Onboard beverages will continue to be free for customers who purchase Classic and Classic Plus fares, when you show your boarding pass to a flight attendant.

EarlyReturns® Mileage Earnings for Base Members
Beginning July 1, 2013, we will change the mileage accrual rate for customers who purchase a Basic fare on a third-party site from 50% to 25% of miles flown. Economy, Classic and Classic Plus ticket holders will continue to receive 100%, 125% and 150% of miles flown, respectively, regardless of where booked. All EarlyReturns members who book on FlyFrontier.com will continue to earn a minimum of 100% of the miles flown.

We strive to offer the best services for our customers and want to make sure that when you choose to book directly with us at FlyFrontier.com, you receive the best benefits we offer.

 

[mrg013]

Thanks for the FYI! I was reading up on this yesterday, and in general, I don't think the change is all that bad. Paying for drinks is obviously annoying, no doubt about that. However, I was so happy to see that the carry-on fee is only for those who don't book through Frontier's website.

At least in my experience, the fares on 3rd party websites and the airline's own website are virtually always identical, so I would choose to book directly through the airline anyway.

I am sure that there are people this would affect negatively, such as those who like to book things as a package through 3rd party websites, but I'm just happy to see that it's not an across-the-board carry-on fee like Spirit has.

 

[Shaft41]

Granted, I haven't looked at third-party websites since I figured the best rates would be on Frontier's website, but when I went to their website to see about a spur-of-the-moment next month trip, there were some great rates to be had, especially if you are flexible about your dates. The times I've flown Frontier, I've had the best luck on their website and I'm glad they're not sticking it to those people. With the rise on fees for checked luggage, it's not surprising that carry-on space is getting cramped, and that airlines might start charging for it, too.

 

[Greysword]

I agree that some of the changes are not bad at all and some are just annoying.

Frontier needs to pay third party websites (like Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, etc) a fee for tickets sold, so this is a small way to recoup that overhead cost. It is best to book via their website, anyway, since it provides better options if a flight is rescheduled.

The drinks thing is just annoying, but many people buy beverages from the airport store and bring them aboard, anyway.

Finally, Frontier's Classic fare is a pretty good deal in itself, since it includes two checked bags, in-flight entertainment, and better rebooking options. The price of one bag and IFE usually makes the additional cost of a Classic fare break even. As such, we get this fare class when traveling on frontier, anyway.