$1630 in person at TTN vs $2030 online (7 tickets). Did not present an EarlyReturns number but will try to get credit. Can't beat it.

Promo code
 

When buying tickets the airport. Can the ticket agent enter in a promo code?

Nope.

Bought a ticket at the counter earlier this week. The DEN-LAX airfare portion was $3.72 r/t hah! $32.40 w/ taxes. The ticket agent said she had seen the fares earlier in the morning and bought one herself. She didn't seem to understand why the prices were cheaper at the airport so I explained the CIC. She applauded me for being clever.

She gave me a seat without me asking. It was a window in the way back, I almost certainly would have gotten a better seat if I just waited until checkin. At least it wasn't a middle, then I think I would have been forced to pay to move out to another seat, gah!

$25 "airport fee" for Frontier bookings?
 

I just went to the ticket counter to avoid the CIC fee and they told me that I would have to pay a $25 "airport fee" for any booking! So the $19 fee is waived only for a new $25 fee to be added, so the cost of the ticket was actually $6 more than online. Given that the optional nature of these fees is how the airlines ostensibly avoid paying excise tax, I am not sure how this is legal, since it appears to be impossible to pay SOME fee that is imposed by the carrier. I even called the airline and the lady told me the CIC could only be waived at the airport, but didn't know about an airport fee and said I'd have to go to the ticket counter. Ugh. It's not alot of money but I still feel swindled.

That is odd, Rhody. I asked Frontier on Twitter and they stated that there was no fee for purchasing a ticket in the airport. When you say that the ticket was $6 more than booking online, were you using a promo code for the ticket online? Promo codes can't be applied at the airport, so sometimes with a good promo code it is still cheaper to book online.

Or did the ticket agent specifically say that there was a $25 fee to book? If so, I think you should contact Frontier and get your $25 refunded.

The fare at the airport equaled the online fare minus the $19 CIC, but the lady at the ticket counter told me that she has to tack on the $25 airport purchase fee on top of the fare. I couldn't find anything on the website that said anything about this fee, and asked to speak with her manager. The manager confirmed that yes, all ticket purchases at the airport incur a $25 fee which is in addition to the base fare/taxes. I did not have a promo code. I called the call center and the guy told me that the $19 CIC was a government-imposed tax, which of course is not true, so I asked to speak with his supervisor, who said that only the airport could waive the CIC, and was not sympathetic to my concern that it seemed impossible for me to purchase a ticket without some carrier-imposed fee. It was all rather odd. I think I'll write to Frontier to see if they can clarify with me and/or the airport staff (I was at ORD). Because the $25 fee I was quoted was higher than the $19 CIC online, I did not purchase the ticket at the airport.

I'm glad to know that the fee is still waived at the airport. I would love to print something from Frontier's website in writing about it in case I try again and get the same manager, but Frontier doesn't exactly advertise this. I wrote to Frontier asking for an explanation for what happened to me but I don't expect them to respond. At least if no one else is having an issue, then if I do ever buy tickets again, I can call about the fee being waived, and if they refuse, well tickets more than 7 days in advance are always refundable within 24 hours of purchase. :)

Try Twitter a public message to them generally gets a prompt response.

I can confirm the carrier interface charge doesn't apply at the airport.
My one-way flight was $93.80 online, $47.80 at the airport. The difference is the $46 Carrier Interface Charge ($23/leg * 2 legs because I had a stop).

I was worried it wouldn't work because there was a sale with a promo code, but I did end up getting the same fare at the airport (but without the CIC added on). Though I'm not sure the ticket I bought was covered by the sale.

Online ($93.80):

1. $17.67 airfare
2. $1.33 US transportation tax
3. $46 carrier interface charge
4. $11.20 US passenger security fee
5. $8.60 US domestic flight segment tax
6. $4.50 * 2 passenger facility charge (one for each departure airport)

Airport (Total: $47.80):

1. $19 airfare (looks like this combines the $17.67 airfare and $1.33 US transportation tax)
2. $28.80 fees & taxes

As a bonus, if you're nice to the ticket agent they might assign you seats, too. I was assigned a window seat near the front of the plane for both flights, which would've cost $26 * 2 if I paid for them.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d1f17392dd.png

I booked a $19 dollar fare from Trenton to Orlando, agent was excited to book a $9 ticket to Orlando (the CIC can very but usually on the cheap tickets) and not only gave me a free seat she upgraded me to Stretch seating. I was friendly talkative and I think that made her day knowing she could relax for a second.

Anyone done this recently? I assume it still works.

I did it about a month ago. But now when I look at the fees for a new ticket on Frontier's site, there's no Carrier Interface Charge listed. All the other normal ones are there, but not the CIC. Unclear if they bundled the CIC into the fare, or if they just stopped charging it (temporarily or permanently).

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...bce6f8865a.png
no CIC?

I am still seeing the CIC on the searches I am doing. Purchased at the counter a few days ago, nothing has changed. I'm curious what search you are doing that takes you through all those airports for $66!

They don't charge the CIC on some of their cheapest sale fares so they can advertise $29 fares (for example).

My $29 Vegas ticket shows the carrier interface charge, so at the airport this fare would be $19.98
US1 - U.S. Transportation Tax
$0.39
CIC - Carrier Interface Charge (Non-Refundable)
$10.00
AY1 - U.S. Passenger Security Fee
$5.60
ZP - U.S. Domestic Flight Segment Tax
$4.30
XF - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Mn (MSP) Passenger Facility Charge
$4.50
TOTAL PAYMENT DUE
$29.98

I’m a bit confused by this thread. I get that you save the CIC by purchasing at the airport but you lose any sort of Discount Den savings? Also, they don’t always apply your elite status on the reservation so do you need to call in update the reservation to get it in the app, add the miles, and get the works package if you’re 100K elite?

I’m just trying to figure out if it makes sense going to the airport to book tickets or if I should just do it online and pay the extra money to avoid having problems?

This is correct they are unable to sell Discount Den Fares at the airport.

You can add your trip to your profile after you book it and it will update with your 100k elite and then go into manage my booking and add seats and bags. The only issue you will face is that the works is only available at initial booking and you would miss out on the refundability aspect of it due to this.

Thanks for explaining this. I guess unless the fair difference is huge due to CIC and I know I won't be cancelling the trip, I'll stick to online booking to get The Works for the option to cancel and also to get my partner The Works and all those perks for free.

I saw a post from 2018 saying there was a $25 ticketing fee charged. Has anyone who has recently purchased a ticket say if this is still the case, or are there any other fees? The CIC for my itinerary is $33 so any fees would pretty much make it not worth the trip. Just want to make sure the airport cost is indeed the (non Discount Den) web price minus the CIC.

​​​​​​Unlike with Spirit flights, where airport price can end up being more than their version of the interface fee, with Frontier, the price at airport is the regular price, minus CIC. I have not had this not be the case and I've booked flights almost every week or every other week since Oct.

Flights that have two segments (e.g. Ord-DEN-LAS) will have an even larger CIC.

Sometimes, with very cheap flights, there is no carrier interface charge and it usually these flights which end up cheaper with discount den. I've booked almost all my flights at airport as about 90% of them were cheaper there vs Discount Den.

Do you have status with Frontier? If so, how do you get your perks if you book at the airport? You mentioned booking flights weekly so I figured you had some status with them.

I have had 20k for several years and the free bag carry on benefit would just show up when I added the flight to my account. Usually it would just match up automatically with my phone number and email that I give the agent.

Also one can book for other people: just need their name and birthdate.

I'll have 100k after my next trip because of the promo so we'll see how those perks get added.

If you see one of the other threads, the elite perks are only supposed to apply after you have gained status even though it doesn't say so on the website... When I achieved 50k, I couldn't book stretch seats ahead of time and that was the reason I was given. I'm just waiting to book trips after I reach 100k so I don't have to fight them for those benefits for any more flights than the 2 I already have booked for 2022.

Orlando Airport
 

Hello everyone. Read the entire thread and seems people have gotten different results at different counters. Can anyone provide insight on the counter at MCO? Does it charge a counter booking fee? Will the counter rep allow me to use my elite status to get stretch seats, bags, family bundling, etc, or if not, will I be able to add the perks on the internet afterwards without paying CIC? Also, what’s best time in the day to go? Thanks in advance. The airport is a bit of a drive for me but may be worth it if Orlando counter does not have same problems as others reported on here. .

Moving to Chicago soon so this is highly valuable information, thnx!

Any experience on the recent schedules from MDW? Never visited/used it in my life, but looking forward.

As an update, I was flying another US airline the past week on a domestic route and my intention was to by two domestic F9 tickets without paying the CIC ( they were both connecting itineraries so was going to save $46 per ticket ); the airport that I departed did had a Frontier departure nearby but all employees at the check-in desk were outsourced ( had a polo shirt or sweater of the ground handling company rather than the green polo shirts or light-gray hoodies with the Frontier logo ) and they told me that the system wouldn't let them ticket anything unless departing from that airport. Is this something new as I experienced this for the first time and two employees tried it on two different computers multiple times. Is this a new restriction? I would totally understand if they do have an agreement with the third party ground handling company getting a commission or fixed rates on the tickets sold by their end. Does anyone have more insight or experience with this?

In the end, the arrival airport of my flight had 2 Frontier flights so the desks were open and was manned with proper Frontier employees and a professional agent was able to issue those two tickets within 3-4 minutes.

I don't think any airport stations actually have agents employed by Frontier. Even CSRs at DEN are outsourced to a handling company. The outstation agents likely work flights for multiple airlines so your luck may be better at "major" F9 cities like DEN, LAS, MCO, PHL, ATL, etc.
I've never had an issue purchasing a ticket at an airport to depart from any city Frontier serves (as recently as October 6). If this restriction were true, it would be impossible to book multi-city itineraries or even a one-way ticket to arrive at the airport you are purchasing the ticket at. I find it more likely the agents you encountered at the first airport either didn't know how to change the departure city (which is easy to do) or just didn't want to take the time to sell a ticket. I would report this experience to Frontier so they can reinforce proper procedures to their ground handler at this airport if this is a common issue. Your experience at the second airport is more typical and affirms that nothing has changed, at least in my view.

As a reference, the experience was at Hartford Bradley Airport in CT.
I would not pass by BDL in the next few months, if nothing new comes up but if I experience the same issue again, I would report the experience to Frontier as you have mentioned.

I was at one of the local airports in my metro area picking up tickets last night when one of the F9 ticketing agents mentioned that corporate is trying to get their agents to charge the $25 "Agent Assistance Fee" for tickets booked at the airport. I know the other area airport tried to pull a fast one on my trying to tack on this charge for a booking I was making there recently. Has anyone else been hearing about this / experiencing this?

This would likely seem to run afoul of Federal Excise Tax regulations regarding the CIC and could open the airline up to a class action suit, DOT/IRS investigation, and/or other punitive actions...

I drove to ORD today as I was about to buy 5 tickets (one-way) and it would have potentially saved me $115. Since Frontier has pared down schedule from ORD, the counter is open only for a few hours everyday. When I reached the counter, there was nobody in the line and the next flight out was almost 2 hours away. But the lady at the counter said that their system is "acting up" all-day and she cannot do any ticketing, and asked me to book online. That sounded like a rehearsed answer & it smelled like BS. I politely asked if she can give it a try and if it doesn't go through, no harm done. She said doesn't want to touch the system is it is "acting up" and it might affect her to check-in and asked me to try again tomorrow!

I asked her if I booked tickets at airport will she charge me extra, just wanted to get an idea if it is worth coming back again. She said if the "system adds $25 for assistance" they are asked not to override it. Very shady!

I ended up booking online as frontier is still cheaper compared to other options.

They are getting whatever they can get out of their scam until it gets nixed. If the Junk Fee bill ever gets passed this will certainly be one of them under the microscope.

I was under the impression that the assistance fee was only for existing tickets, not for new ticketing, although I could be mistaken. The agent may not be familiar with the distinction.

They should not be charging the agent assistance fee to make a reservation.

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!

Placed under the wrong posting.

Glad you got a good outcome. Frontier locations are getting shameless in this crap. Lucky they would even sell it to you, many just say they aren't allowed to.

I will say that stuff like this and Breeze's stricter method (you get to buy tickets at airports on Tuesdays between 11a & 1p to avoid their "Technology Development Charge) makes me surprised the gov't hasn't lowered the Excise Tax but apply it to many more things ("convenience fees", baggage, seat assignments, etc) to keep it revenue neutral but prevent airlines from finding new and increasingly creative ways to circumvent it.