Class Action Lawsuit Takes Aim at Frontier’s “Low Cost” Model
Joe Cortez July 25, 2023
Filed in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, flyer Amira Hamad is taking the company to court on claims that the airline is deceiving customers with their company model.
Lawsuit Focuses on Bag Sizers and “Misrepresented Fees” Aboard Frontier
“Frontier is not a budget airline. Frontier does not have the lowest airfares,” the lawsuit opens. “Frontier just breaks its fees into tiny little pieces and checkpoints to water down the appearance of what is actually an average airfare when combined and compared to the industry.”
The heart of the lawsuit focuses on the allowed personal item carry-on, which must fit within a baggage checker at the gate. According to Frontier’s website, the personal item included with a ticket must be a maximum of 14 inches high, 18 inches wide, and eight inches deep, including handles, wheels, and straps. The website states: “Personal items must fit completely within the personal item portion of the bag sizer. Think purses, totes, computer bags, briefcases, and kids backpacks!” While the website says every personal item will be checked for size at the gate, the lawsuit alleges anything that is above the allowed size could be subject to up to a $100 charge at the gate.
In the action, Hamad claims her “TSA-certified” bag meets those dimensions perfectly. However, when attempting to use the personal item check at the gate, her bag allegedly did not fit. The complaint includes a photo of the Frontier bag measurement kiosk against a Spirit Airlines baggage checker. At the Spirit kiosk, her bag appears to fit perfectly.
Hamad’s bag measured in Frontier’s bag sizer against Spirit’s bag sizer, as depicted in the lawsuit. Image courtesy Amira Hamad via lawsuit complaint
“Notably, Frontier does not identify the dimension of its bag sizer on the actual bag sizer, which, in effect, prevent the consumer from objecting to the bag sizer in-person and allows Frontier to induce the consumer into paying the additional fees under the duress of timely boarding their flight,” the complaint reads. “Furthermore, Frontier fails to adequately explain to consumers before purchase that bags are more expensive at the gates.”
As a result, the lawsuit accuses Frontier Airlines of “misleading” consumers about the personal items policy, including the fact that any bag that doesn’t fit is subject to an additional charge. Additionally, Hamad claims that the airline incentivizes gate agents to upcharge as much as possible with bonuses.
The suit seeks not only refunds for tickets and fees paid to Frontier, but also $100 million in damages. The airline has not commented on the legal action, noting that they do not speak about pending or active litigation.
Share your thoughts about Frontier’s low-cost policies on the FlyerTalk Forums.
I have flown Frontier a few times, as i usually pack light and it saved me some good money. My personal item is a 28L backpack, which i specifically got because of its perfect under-seat dimensions; it actually falls a few inches shorter than the limit all around. On one flight i noticed some apparent tomfoolery from the staff about passengers' bag sizes while they were boarding an earlier Frontier flight. So I got curious and dropped by bag into their sizer.
It barely squeezed in there. I had never really used the sizer before, even boarding Frontier flights, so i thought that its tight fit was alarming, since my bag was pretty small. Out of curiousity, i went around the airport (had over an hour to kill) and dropped my bag into five different airlines' bag sizers. It practically swam in every single one, even United's, which i think has the smallest size limit on paper.
I didn't face any issue with bags on that flight, as expected, but i did always find this to be concerning. I quit trying to fly Frontier anyway after they stranded me for two days in Chicago, but that's another story.
According to a video (I forgot which media network), only the sizers on the airside are smaller, which also is consistent with what the 100K flier below said.
Wow, they're using baggage sizers that aren't the actual dimensions of what's allowed? That'd be pretty explosive if true. Though I'm sure the things can take a pounding if people have to cram things in there to avoid paying $100.
In Asia there are similar issues. Air Asia keeps changing their website and wording and you can never really get good info on what it will cost. You can only find out after you have gone through the entire booking process - your name, passport number, address, etc. - only to find out a bag will cost more than the ticket. Some countries, like Korea, regulate their LCCs to avoid consumer stress.
I noticed on some routes in USA where Frontier (or Spirit) are the main carrier, the prices are more than a traditional carrier.
Flying is part public service. Airports, air security, etc. are all highly subsidiesed by the taxpayer. But our elected officials treat Airlines are a free market when it is clearly not.
as long as you understand LCCs they are fine. With airfares that include checked luggage, people tend to pack up to weight limit. They tend to carry far more stuff than they will ever use. Learn to travel lighter & you will save if book long way ahead. LCCs don't try to cater for business types.
The issue here is Frontier agents were trying to charge people $100 for bags that actually fit in the sizer, under made up claims like if the strap falls out, you have to pay, or if the bag touches the sides of the sizer it is not considered fitting, or if it takes you more than two attepts to fit the bag in then you have to pay.