Frontier Airlines CEO calls out travelers trying to avoid paying for carry-on bags: ‘These are shoplifters’

Budget carrier Frontier Airlines said Tuesday it will offer first-class seats to attract passengers willing to spend more.

Frontier previously added more seats with extra legroom and business fares targeted at small companies.

Other budget carriers have also targeted higher fares. In August, Spirit Airlines began offering intra-European-style business class seats with a guaranteed blocked middle seat, while Southwest Airlines said in July it planned to offer premium seats with extra legroom.

Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said the airline hopes to start offering first-class seats on all flights by the end of 2025, which will require approval from regulators.

“There is 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.”

The airline is also increasing benefits for frequent flyers.

Biffle said other programs have become less generous with fewer seat upgrades and noted that major U.S. airlines had introduced no-feature “basic economy” seats.

“That’s really our answer,” he said. “We can make the cheapest coach seat, but we can also make the cheapest first class seat.”

The Department of Transportation said in its most recent report that Frontier in August was ninth of the top 10 airlines for on-time arrivals, with 65% on-time at the 80 airports it serves, and ranked seventh for the first eight months of 2024 .

Biffle criticized a Senate report challenging Frontier’s practice of paying gate agents up to $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 was poised to benefit from President-elect Donald Trump’s lighter regulatory approach.

“There’s also going to be some kind of takedown,” Biffle said. “We’re going to focus on things that matter, like security, and we’re going to stop worrying about fixing prices and fixing experiences.”