Budget carrier Frontier Airlines said Tuesday it will offer first class-style seating to lure travelers willing to spend more.
Frontier had previously added more seats with extra leg room and business fares aimed at smaller companies.
Other budget carriers are also aiming for higher fares. In August, Spirit Airlines Intra-Europe-style offering launched Business-class seats with guaranteed blocking middle seat, while Southwest Airlines In July it said it planned to introduce premium seats with extra leg room.
Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said the airline hopes to begin offering first-class seats on all flights in late 2025, requiring approval from regulators.
“A percentage of our customers are willing to pay more for comfort,” Biffle told Reuters. “These are affluent leisure customers who want a first-class seat.”
The airline is also continuously increasing benefits for passengers.
Biffle said other programs have become less generous with fewer seat upgrades, and noted that the largest US airlines have introduced no-frills “basic economy” seats.
“This is really our answer,” he said. “We can produce the cheapest coach seat, but we can also produce the cheapest first class seat.”
The Department of Transportation said in its most recent report that in August Frontier was ranked ninth among the 10 major airlines in terms of on-time arrivals, with 65% on time at 80 airports, and seventh for the first eight months of 2024. But it was.
Biffle criticized a Senate report that objected to Frontier’s practice of paying gate agents $10 to catch passengers attempting to avoid paying for carry-on baggage.
“These are shopkeepers. These are the people who are stealing,” Biffle said. “It’s not fair for everyone to follow the rules.”
He also said the industry is poised to benefit from President-elect Donald Trump’s light-handed regulatory approach.
“There’s going to be a kind of deregulation there, too,” Biffle said. “We’re going to focus on the things that matter, like safety, and stop worrying about regulating prices and regulating experiences.”
