Frontier Airlines to Raise Some Checked-Bag Fees

Frontier Airlines will hike some checked-bag fees starting May 1, most by $5 per flight.

Frontier, which changed its business model last year to include low fares but many add-on fees, will charge $25, up from $20, if a checked bag is paid for during online flight check-in.

However, the fee remains at $20 for passengers who pay for the bag during initial online booking or up to the day of the flight.

“We want to encourage customers to choose their options at the time of booking, on flyfrontier.com, where they always get the lowest-priced options,” Frontier spokesman Todd Lehmacher said.

Bag fees when using the call center will go from $25 to $30, as does paying at the airport during check-in. A second bag, paid for during airport check-in, goes from $30 to $35.

Checking a bag at the gate will see a $10 increase, to $60.

Carry-on-bag fees remain the same, ranging from $30 to $40, unless the bag is oversized and must be checked at the gate. The price for that goes from $50 to $60.

Frontier has said it will add four new flights from O’Hare International Airport in April, making Chicago its second-largest base after its headquarters in Denver while all but abandoning Chicago’s second airport, Midway Airport, where it has operated since the late 1990s.

The transition to O’Hare means Frontier is going head-to-head with Spirit Airlines, its primary competition in the deep-discount market. Both airlines are known for low fares and for aggressively charging fees, including for seat assignments.

Frontier also offers packages of service for an extra cost that bring it more in line with service on a traditional carrier.

With recent changes, Frontier will fly to 18 destinations from O’Hare. It will fly only to Trenton, N.J., from Midway.

The fee hike was first reported by the Arizona Republic.

The fee chart is at FlyFrontier.com.

This article appeared in print in the March 23rd, 2015 edition of Hamodia.