Frontier Airlines is reducing the limit of check-in luggage weight by 20%. In March, the weight limit for checked-in bags drops from 50 pounds (22.6 kilograms) to 40 pounds (18 kilograms). The reduced weight limits will affect Frontier passengers who purchased tickets on or after January 18, 2022, for travel on or after March 1.
A checked-in luggage weight cut rather than a fee rise
Like most low-cost carriers, Frontier Airlines already makes good money charging passengers to check-in luggage. Costs vary depending on where a traveler is heading, but US$40 is typical for the first piece of check-in luggage on Frontier when booked and paid for online. Costs escalate if paying for a bag after making the initial booking or at the airport.
But wait. There’s more … If a traveler’s luggage weighs between 41 and 50 pounds, Frontier passengers will pay an additional $50. If a piece of luggage weighs between 51 and 100 pounds, the additional cost is $100. Except for assistive devices or musical instruments, Frontier Airlines does not accept checked-in luggage weighing more than 100 pounds.
Like downsizing a bar of chocolate rather than increasing its price, Frontier Airlines may have been hoping this move would slide under the radar. However, that’s proving to be not the case. The reduced weight limit matches what low-cost competitors Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air offer. However, Avelo Air and Breeze Airways retain a 50-pound limit.
The big four US airlines – American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Delta Air Lines- allow passengers to check in a bag weighing up to 50 pounds before weight-related fees kick in.
Frontier’s new reduced checked-in luggage limits come into effect on March 1. Photo: Frontier Airlines
Ancillary revenue proves a big money spinner for Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines generated an average of $106 per passenger in the third quarter of 2021. Over half of that – $63, was from ancillary revenue such as checked luggage and excess weight fees. That handy $63 earn was a 12% improvement on Frontier’s ancillary revenue figures from the third quarter in 2020.
In the 2020 calendar year, Frontier Airlines generated 49.2% of its total revenue from ancillary revenue. However, that lagged behind US-based competitors Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines. In the second quarter of 2021, that figure jumped to 61.1% before settling back to 59.4% in the third quarter. But it seems clear airlines like Frontier will lean more and more on ancillary revenue charges like checked-in luggage fees to generate an increasing proportion of their overall revenues while advertising low headline ticket costs.
Frontier Airlines makes big money from ancillary revenue charges like checked-in luggage fees. Photo: Frontier Airlines
A nice piece of corporate greenwashing from Frontier
However, Frontier isn’t admitting that the reduced checked-in luggage limits are about boosting revenue. Instead, in a nice piece of corporate greenwashing, Frontier claims the decision was made to encourage passengers to fly lighter and help reduce Frontier’s carbon emissions. Frontier makes a big deal of its eco-credentials, saying it is the greenest airline in the US.
In addition to checked-in luggage fees and overweight and oversized fees, Frontier Airlines charges when not making a booking via their website. The airline will also whack you for priority boarding, flight flexibility, flight changes or cancelations within 60 days of travel, seat selection, and inflight food and beverage. Add them all up, and it’s a hefty fee. On the other hand, it allows Frontier Airlines to advertise air fares as low as $19.
But buy a $19 ticket, and the only luggage a traveler will get on a Frontier aircraft for free is a “personal item” with maximum dimensions of 8”D x 18”W x 14”H.
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