In recent days, tens of millions of people have seen a video about a confrontation at a Frontier Airlines check-in counter. The airline has now taken action, which seems appropriate. However, I think it misses the big picture issue that Frontier has when it comes to customer service, which is all too often overlooked.
Frontier Airlines check-in agents go off on customer
There has been widespread coverage of a tense exchange that happened on Friday, May 2, 2025, between a customer and Frontier Airlines representatives at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). A man reportedly arrived at the airport around 50 minutes before departure, for his flight to Boston (BOS).
He wasn’t aware that Frontier requires people to check-in at least 60 minutes before departure, as he hadn’t checked in via the website or app. The agents offered to check him in for a $25 fee, which is Frontier’s standard airport assist fee (yes, there’s a charge for the airline to help customers).
The man didn’t like the tone of the agents, who told him that he should have known about this, but he agreed to pay the fee. While preparing to pay the fee, he said “I’m never flying this sh****y airline again,” and that’s when things got a little out of control, and he started recording the below video.
As you can see, two Frontier representatives then start filming him. One employee repeatedly says “and you thought you was gonna get on your flight,” while the other employee stands there and laughs.
Given the public outrage over this, Frontier has issued an apology, stating that the employees no longer work for Frontier, and that the man has been refunded for his Frontier flight, as well as the replacement flight he booked on JetBlue.
Look, the check-in agents acted completely inappropriately, no matter how you slice it. It’s possible the customer was also out of line, but the level of mockery, disdain, and laughter they showed toward the customer, is completely unacceptable.
I realize we’re all humans and have bad days, but this just crosses the line. I’d understand if they would step back and basically say “I can’t help you anymore,” but they almost seem to get a thrill out of this.
This misses the bigger issue with Frontier Airlines service
Bigger picture, Frontier Airlines has a real issue with unfriendly and unhelpful ground agents. Sure, you can fire these two individuals, but that doesn’t get at the root cause of the issue.
Many people don’t realize this, but Frontier outsources virtually all of its airport operations jobs, even at hubs. On this page, you can find which company they subcontract to at each airport. Obviously this is a money saving move, so the airline can pay staff as little as possible, without worrying about them unionizing, etc.
I don’t know if this is still the case, but historically, the airline has given airport operations employees a commission on ancillary revenue generated, including for gate checking bags that are above the allowed size (given the carrier’s punitive carry-on policy).
Obviously this creates a really messed up incentive system when it comes to providing good customer service. Delta gives its employees profit sharing, while Frontier gives its contract employees a commission on fees they can extra from customers. In other words, Delta incentivizes its employees to make customers happy, while Frontier incentivizes its employees to make customers unhappy.
Then combine that with Frontier’s really customer unfriendly policies. For example, Frontier’s $25 airport agent assist fee means that the airline charges $25 if you need any help from an airport agent, even if it’s just to print a boarding pass.
Pre-pandemic, carriers like Frontier could get away with this, because the airline had an amazing cost structure, and ultra low cost carriers were profitable. But times have changed. As Frontier struggles to turn a profit and tries to become more premium, it still hasn’t ditched many of the policies that lead to an unpleasant experience. If the airline actually wants people to be loyal, pick up a credit card, or fly the airline even if it’s not way cheaper, then a lot needs to change.
Bottom line
A Frontier Airlines check-in interaction went viral, after two representatives mocked and filmed a customer who was frustrated. The airline has taken action, and the two people are no longer associated with Frontier. The customer has also been refunded for his ticket, and the replacement ticket he had to buy.
Frontier made the right move here, though given the amount of attention this got, the airline had no choice. The bigger issue remains that Frontier exclusively uses contract employees for ground services, so they aren’t properly incentivized to care about customer service. Quite to the contrary, at least historically, they’ve primarily been incentivized to find any chance possible to charge customers. For them, unhappy customers increased their pay checks!
What do you make of this Frontier incident?
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