Frontier Airlines Oversize Bag Fee Incident Goes Viral... Without Merit

It does sound like their policy was properly enforced at the complaints are a little unfair. But just looking at their actual policies (having never flown with Frontier), boy do they sound like an unpleasant airline to fly with.

It's a company that has a bottom feeder business model. Fly Frontier, expect to be treated to a NY Subway experience.

So you're telling me if I pay a gate agent $11 they will get more than their commission for getting a bag paid for.

People love to complain and want to get away with things as much as possible. Frontier does a great job of telling you what to expect and even incentivized buying bag space beforehand. Just pay for a checked bag and seats, and avoid all the nonsense. You’ll usually still be paying less than legacy airlines. However be prepared for pain if they have to cancel flights.

The policies are clear and the agent was doing her job. Shame on the people recording this and trying to scam their way then trying to get some views on TikTok.

That's the problem with TikTok a bunch of morons trying to get 10 seconds of fame.

Exactly.

Have unusually terrible baggage policies, expect an unusually terrible customer response to the policy. Whether communicated well or not. It’s human behavior. Not sure why Frontier wouldn’t expect constant customer feedback on this, including on social media. They’ve chosen this path, and now the employees have to decide whether $10 compensation per bag is worth dealing with constant customer pushback. I feel the worst for them, because many probably need that $10 per bag to scrape by.

Shame on Frontier for creating this system.

My checked bag was 2 lbs over and I did not get charged extra. I was going to try to remove stuff. But I'm guessing they wanted to keep the line moving and let me go. My personal item met the requirements except the wheels. I thought they were going to charge me for a carry on, but I squished into the personal sizer wheels and all and they let it go.

Risk losing your job for one measly dollar?

I'm fighting with them now. I paid for my luggage. On a nonstop flight. 172$. My luggage was in dallas. But I was in detroit. Then I got a email saying I volunteered to leave my luggage. Which I didn't. I got my luggage 3 days later. And had to drive back up to Detroit to get my luggage. Ridiculous. They tried to accuse me of being late. When I was inline for 2 hours. That's not including at the airport. Waiting to put my bags on.

I don't understand how these ULCCs stay in business and why people fly them. After adding all the fees - who can travel anywhere without at least a personal item and a carry on - the total price is always the same as a mainline carrier. Plus crappy or no customer service, it makes no sense to me.

What a total shitshow and by that i mean both Airline and passengers

I fly Frontier however I know what to expect. Honestly, I have found I buy a carry on if I need it and I buy a seat assignment because I like knowing my seat. I'm still well under the cost of Delta. And as far as service on board, there is nothing a bag of candy doesn't get me. I've gotten drinks, snacks, and many smiles for a low price. You just have to know how to play the game. And with my All you can fly pass starting in May I will be flying them a lot.

Frontier are the biggest scammers in the airline industry,i flew with them and one of their agent tag my bag incorrectly sending it to another destination not my name or address after i pay them $100 when i made it to my destination and coult not see my bag i immediately file a claim and fill out paperwork and Frontier has the audacity to tell me i reported it late and there's nothing they can do i was without my clothes for 4 days had to purchase clothes save my receipts as they said they would rehemburst me,when i finally got my luggage that went to Arizona when my destination was montego bay Jamaica suitcase was damage items missing and they said its not their fault,and they have you pay for even a carryon if people can avoid flying with them it would be great they have no customer service training and dont take their customers interest at heart

As a Frontier elite member with DCA/BWI as my home airports, I know the person handling the gate in the video. She's actually one of the better ones on that team and looks to be in the right when you study everything about the video.

Her manager on the other hand tried to charge me a bogus $25 agent assistance fee when I tried to purchase a ticket from the counter to avoid their CIC. The contract agents at DCA also have a tendency to hard close the ticket/check in counter 45 minutes before departure with no regard for anyone who may be in line, especially the manager for the team there.

The BWI staff is phenomenal.

Frontier does charge for bags that clearly fit. I fly often and every single time we all have a huge problem with Frontier employees charging us and the employees do not care. My daughter and 2 babys were trapped at airport because of Frontier employees pushing they carry on charges like they do. Another time my daughter and 2 babys were not allowed to fly because of same issue. If another passenger had not stepped up and paid for carry on again they would have been stranded at airport again.
This is a huge problem with Frontier.

The contract agents at DCA also have a tendency to hard close the ticket/check in counter 45 minutes before departure with no regard for anyone who may be in line

This is standard across airlines, not just ULCCs. The rules are that you have completed check in at T-45, not that you are in line to check in. I have heard stories of hard cutoffs on other airlines.

Honestly, I have found I buy a carry on if I need it and I buy a seat assignment because I like knowing my seat.

In my experience, when I bundle a Frontier flight with these "perks," the total price comes within a hair of the normal airlines.

I don't understand how these ULCCs stay in business and why people fly them.

ULCCs stay in business for two reasons. First, if you're flying with no luggage -- perhaps you've shipped your belongings to your destination -- and you're OK with a cramped middle seat in the back of the plane -- and you're also OK with long delays -- then your fare really may be ultra low cost. I mean cheaper than gasoline if you were to drive yourself on the same route.

Second, exploitation. Airline deregulation means the airlines get away with more than they should. A lot of consumers aren't well-informed (and I'm not blaming them per se). Advertising a $40 fare when the airline knows damn well that virtually all passengers have luggage that will easily triple that price is exploitative in my view.

But just looking at their actual policies (having never flown with Frontier), boy do they sound like an unpleasant airline to fly with.

Yep. In contract law, you can't enforce clauses that are unconscionable. Unfortunately consumer law is not so advanced yet, otherwise Frontier and any other business would be barred from pulling these absurd moves. Why should any civilized modern society allow unpleasant businesses to stay in business?

I'm guessing you are never going to fly Frontier again. And they certainly do not deserve any more of your business.

You are not viewing the entire collection of the TikTok videos from Dyana Villa. The lady recording is a journalist. She got charged and paid for her personal item on the first leg of her flight. She didn't bring anything else. No purse or other bag. One hard shell pink bag measuring less than 18x14x8 and easily goes into sizer. She also got denied boarding from another flight because she was recording the sizing process in Denver. Yes the other people may have other items but I have seen first hand people get denied boarding or have to trash bags even when they are following the Frontier guidelines.

Gotta love businesses starting to use the term “unequitable” when trying to make money. And everyone really thought this movement started organically and it was all about race. LOL.

Actually DOT in response to customer complaints has held airlines to the "in line = on time" assuming they joined the line ahead of the cut-off time. Kind of like going to vote.

I do quite well to fly Spirit... did a status challenge to Silver and achieved it. I go to Orlando for the day or weekend with just a backpack for $30.03 round trip all in (base fare $0.93) an as a Silver I can pick a seat at check-in (they do limit it to about an 8 row block aft of the exit row) so I pretty much get an aisle if I want one every time.

Just got to figure out the game. And to your earlier point about bundles.... I think those are the biggest scam. They may discount one popular item in the pack but counter it by including items you don't typically need like a free name change or priority security at somewhere like Richmond.

Unconscionable or unpleasant?

I 100% agree with the customers complaining. Because the check in agents get a commission for charging fees they are not on the side of the customer and try to charge a fee in any way that they can. Then the customer needs to argue or prove their point. May be customers should start brining a tape measure to prove the size of their bag for example. It should not be up to the customer to prove themselves. True that they are flying a "low cost" airline, but on the other hand there are limits to these "games." After you are done with various fees then the ticket price is not much different from a "regular" airline.

Let’s hope your daughter doesn’t book a third trip with Frontier

Because it's become in vogue to buy a $40 seat on a crap airline and then upload a video on social media of how horrible the experience was. As my mother said (someone raised when people had common sense) people that buy used food shouldn't complain about the taste.

I was charged 166$ for one suitcase, she said take it or leave it. Second I got to gate, different lady said u need to go over there n get a new boarding pass, we had to move your seat, yours was between a lady n her infant. Got on plane it was lady n 9 year old. Here airline charged me 37$ for a seat preference that I didn't request.

Ruined my daughters trip (to tears) as check-in agent encouraged her to bring 2nd small bag to gate as personal bag after charging $50 overweight fee for a pre-checked bag. Issue was the personal bag could have fit inside the checked bag with no additional fee. Gate team then charged a $100 fee for the personal bag brought to gate at direction of baggage check-in team. This bag was not needed and only brought to reduce 4lbs from checked bag! Now it makes sense! Beware - collusion with fees added all over the place.

Ok but what's wrong with her holding a jacket? And the "don't push it in there" is nowhere mentioned on the sizer. I understand they have to enforce the sizes and fees, and they are upfront about it. But the fact the agent wanted to question her about the jacket and they don't allow you to push the bag in is clearly very scummy.

I read the comments. My daughter and family flew last Sunday. They had to pay $100. for a carry on that was (with wheels) a full measurable 1/2 in over. Over is over, right? I suppose the 5 yr old could have taken out her blanket to reduce the size.. insane.

The story this whitewashing industry rag won’t tell… I flew Frontier from Vegas to Palm Beach a few weeks ago. The gate agents were checking every bag, as they should. Woman in front of me, travelling with kids and boarding a connecting flight, had a soft bag personal item that easily fit, though she had to push it down into the sizer as it got caught on the lip. They made her pay $100. They were like rabid dogs. I don’t condone passengers abusing the policy either, but pay your employees to enforce the rules WITHOUT financial incentive to abuse them themselves.

I flew LAS to PBI a few weeks back. Connected in Atlanta. They were checking every bag, as they should. People shouldn’t abuse the rules. Gate agents were like rabid dogs. Woman in front of me, travelling with kids and also connecting, put her (soft sided) personal item in the sizer. It got caught on the lip, and as she was pushing it down, they were barking (doesn’t fit, you have to pay). Make your employees do their job enforcing the rules. Don’t incentivize them to break the rules themselves. Their behaviors was disgusting.

I won't fly on a trash airline like Frontier.

How about giving employees an incentive for good customer service and professionalism?

Instead you pay them to be rude and disrespectful. Not a good way to win customers. I’d rather pay a little more at an airline that I feel appreciates my business and their customers than a cheaper airline that is rude and doesn’t care about their customers. I’m sure most people would agree.

Nope I’ve seen a bunch of HARD suitcase videos where it clearly fits with room to spare and agents are still charging and saying it doesn’t fit and it doesn’t even go above the box!

I've seen Frontier be crappy first hand. A Hispanic guy had the same size backpack as me. She declared it too large and that he'd need to pay $99. Didn't even check just screwed him over.

Frontier is abusive not only for charging but for the way the employees treat people during the process which is very disrespectful. Someone in Frontiers Corporate level needs to addressed this issue.

First of all, for the people that say the seats are 40$ you have not flown Frontier. There is no flight of that range anywhere. Second, a backpack is a personal item in every other airline except for frontier. They have a business of scamming people for fees for backpacks as carryons with penalties.

This is so disingenuous. There are MANY videos of people putting a bag that EXACTLY fits into the sizer, and being denied, and charged the $99 fee. It’s not just this one video. I saw several. This is not a one-off. Please do more research.

Frontier box at the airport is a cheat,
My luggage slides effortlessly into the Spirit size checker, yet the Frontier size checker is 1/2 inch smaller at all dimensions,
No gate agent would offer a tape measure to verify their sizing box..
Frontier is cheating and overcharging

There’s another Instagram post about a grey bag that doesn’t fit and we can see it does and is stored without issue under the seat, yet the agent called Liz, is rude and makes no sense, makes them pay $100 to board.

The man is calmly talking to her and she calls security. So let’s be clear they aren’t saints and this nonsense continues until they get jailed for false claims.

We actually just flew with Frontier on Monday and even though our personal items clearly fit, we were told to shove it all the way down to make sure the straps weren't sticking out. Some apparently say you can't shove and some make you shove. I had less of an issue with the policy than I did with the attitude and rudeness of the guy checking the size. Not only was he rude but he was a slob. I'm surprised that they don't have a dress code that they enforce the same way they enforce the bag size rule. Looking presentable and professional should be mandatory. Showers, pit stick and clean, tucked in clothing should be standard.

The thing about the viral video isn't in itself the issue about the bag fitting or not, but how UNBELIEVABLE rude the attendant is to the passengers, with "sassy" comebacks, offenses and other absurdly unprofessional behaviors. I have worked in customer service and I know at times it can be extremely frustrating, but her attitude is just unjustifiable.