The CEO of the budget airline Frontier spoke about several changes that will be implemented in the coming year, but also shared criticism for passengers who attempt to avoid carry-on fees, likening them to “shoplifters.”
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The remarks from CEO Barry Biffle came while speaking with Reuters this week about the introduction of first-class-style seating to the airline.
Biffle shared with Reuters that by the late 2025, he hopes to have first-class seating on all flights, though it will need approval from regulators.
“There’s a percentage of our customers willing to pay more for comfort,” Biffle told Reuters. “These are affluent leisure customers who want a first-class seat.”
This isn’t the first switch up for Frontier’s seating, as they previously made the move to add more seats with extra legroom and business fares targeted at getting small companies to buy flights.
The airline is also boosting benefits for its frequent flyer members at a time when Biffle says other programs for competing airlines have gotten less generous.
“This is really our answer,” he said. “We can produce the cheapest coach seat, but we can also produce the cheapest first-class seat as well.”
However, Biffle also offered criticism while speaking with Retuers, particularly towards a recent report from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. That report criticized Frontier’s practice of paying gate agents as much as $10 for catching travelers attempting to avoid paying for carry-on baggage.
Defending the practice, Biffle said that what gate agents were doing was stopping people from breaking the law.
“These are shoplifters. These are people that are stealing,” Biffle said. “It’s not equitable to everyone who follows the rules.”
That Senate report had also found that from 2018 to 2023, American, United, Delta, Spirit, and Frontier made $12.4 billion in seat-picking fees.
However, the criticism over what the Biden administration has deemed “junk fees” may soon be over, as Biggle praised the incoming Trump administration, saying the industry is preparing for fewer regulations.
“There’s also going to be kind of a unshackling,” Biffle said. “We’re going to focus on things that matter, like, like safety, and stop worrying about regulating prices and regulating experiences.”
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