Low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines said Tuesday it will offer first-class-style seats to attract passengers willing to spend more.
Frontier previously added extra legroom seats and business fares aimed at small businesses.
Other low-cost airlines are also looking to raise fares. Spirit Airlines began offering guaranteed European-style business class seats with blocked middle seats in August, while Southwest Airlines plans to offer premium seats with extra legroom in July. It was announced that there is.
Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said the airline hopes to start offering first class seats on all flights in the second half of 2025, but that would require regulatory approval.
“There is a certain percentage of customers who are willing to pay more for comfort,” Biffle told Reuters. “These are wealthy leisure customers who want first class seats.”
The company is also enhancing benefits for frequent flyer customers.
Biffle said seat upgrades have become less generous and other programs have become less generous, noting that the nation's largest airlines have introduced no-frills “basic economy” seats.
“This is exactly our answer,” he said. “We can make the cheapest coach seats, but we can also make the cheapest first class seats.”
In its latest report, the Department of Transportation said Frontier Airlines ranked 9th out of 10 major airlines in on-time performance in August, with a 65% on-time performance at the 80 airports it serves for the first eight months of 2024. announced that it was ranked 7th.
Biffle criticized a Senate report against Frontier's practice of paying gate agents as much as $10 for catching travelers trying to avoid paying for carry-on bags.
“These are shoplifters. These are people who are stealing,” Biffle said. “It’s not fair to everyone who follows the rules.”
He also said the industry is poised to benefit from President-elect Donald Trump's lighter regulatory approach.
“It's going to kind of untie us,” Biffle said. “We're going to focus on what's important, like safety, and stop worrying about regulating price and regulating experience.”
