The new guy realizes almost none of his customers pay for bags or drinks so the ULCC model $1 fare is not working because everybody is cheap with just a small backpack. Go Wild is a $0.01 fare too, but we gave $300 to $400 for the psss upfront.
I've never seen a lot of drinks/snacks sold on Frontier, but it did seem like "the bundle" fares had increased carry-ons. I haven't flown enough Frontier flights lately to know if that's still the case. In any event , I can't believe there's a plausible business plan that offers sub $50 fares.