Frontier Airlines to add new fees

Fees, fees, and more fees! Frontier Airlines is at it again. In an effort to become an “ultra low cost carrier”, Frontier Airlines is set to introduce new fees yet again.

To kick things off, Frontier has announced that it will start charging customers who book their tickets through third-party sites a $25 to $100 fee for carry-on bags, excluding certain members of its frequent flier program. Yes, you read that correctly. This fee is for carry-on bags. This is an effort to get more people to check their bags to free up overhead space on their planes. The $25 price is for passengers who check into their flights on the airline website. For those who check in at the airport, the fee can be as high as $100. The start date for this carry-on fee has yet to be announced, but should be announced at some point this spring. If that wasn’t enough, Frontier has also announced it will start charging $1.99 for what was once known as a complimentary drink.

As miniscule as it may sound to charge $1.99 for a drink, it is frightening to see the trend of adding so many fees for basic services. Europe’s leading no-frills airline, Ryanair, has already brought up the idea of installing coin-operated toilets and standing seats. That is an extreme case, but it goes to show you the mind-set of the airlines and how they are trying to increase ancillary revenue through increased fees. Don’t be surprised to see other airlines study this move by Frontier and follow suit.

RyanAir to Eliminate Toilets from Aircraft?

Anyone who has attempted to jaunt across Europe through the air on an extreme budget has probably come in contact with the notoriously stripped-down service (and obscenely cheap cost) of RyanAir. For those who haven't and may be tempted to use the lavatory during a flight, you might want to avoid this carrier and instead opt for (the slightly classier) EasyJet.

RyanAir CEO Michael O'Leary has proposed removing two of the fleet's three on board toilets so as to add six additional seats (RyanAir already packs in the maximum 189 seats onto its Boeing 737-800 airplanes) in order to reduce ticket prices by about five percent per passenger- pretty measly considering the fares are as low as 9 GBP/ EUR (but are also accompanied by substantial credit card and online booking fees). I'll keep my 45p and keep the option open for multiple restrooms.

I suppose there is a reason passengers choose the ridiculously low-priced airline, but when will enough be enough? O'Leary has famously proposed other cost-cutting measures like offering standing-room only seats on flights, charging for toilet usage, and cutting out co-pilots, so I guess this isn't that outrageous.