Originally Posted by
linglingfool
I'm not terribly familiar with Frontier, but this fee looks to be identical to Spirit's Passenger Usage Fee of ~$18, in that it's charged for bookings on the website or via a call center. From brief searching, it looks like the fee has gone up quite a bit so far this year -- I've seen examples of $4 from January, and $10 from the spring, whereas I'm being quoted $18 for a flight this fall.
Can this charge be avoided by buying at the counter like it can on NK? I assume so, since the F9 site doesn't mention it being charged at the airport, but I haven't been able to find a whole lot on this fee.
Yes, the Frontier CIC is now $23 EACH WAY on every ticket EXCEPT for those below $39. You will save $23 each way. (Most Frontier agents don't even know this.) By it's very nature, a fee is for an OPTIONAL SERVICE (otherwise, it's taxable) so legally, Frontier must provide a way to avoid it. The way to avoid it is to purchase the ticket at the airport.
I once had an agent at DFW tell me this: "My manager said that too many people are buying their tickets at the airport, so now we are charging a $25 fee. I told him that this was ILLEGAL for the reason I cited above. He wouldn't sell me the ticket without the $25 fee, so I paid it with my credit card and FILED A D.O.T. COMPLAINT. The U.S. D.O.T. ruled in my favor and forced Frontier to refund my $25!
Now that's a story with a happy ending!