Frontier Airlines CEO lambasted passenger over bag fees

[NewYorkExpress]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/burbank/2014/02/05/frontier-carry-on-bag-fee/5206353/

What is your opinion of this debacle?

[The Dowager Mod]

The frontier people have a point, all the time when i fly i see these people trying to shove these huge bags into the overhead bin, just pay the 25 bux.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Yeah I'm with TG.  Taking off on time is bad enough with these cheap bastards wasting time shoving their stuff in the compartments, but de-planing is a nightmare while they're trying to get the stuff out if you're not in the first dozen rows.  Wave bye bye to your connecting flight.

I blame the gate agents for not forcing them to pay for it.

[ilikeverin]

Come on, people.  Who you have to blame is the airlines for charging for checked bags.  Southwest doesn't do that at all, which encourages people to check bags and thus makes the process easier.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Come on, people.  Who you have to blame is the airlines for charging for checked bags.  Southwest doesn't do that at all, which encourages people to check bags and thus makes the process easier.

I fly SW whenever I can but sometimes it's not convenient to the schedule.  Every other airline charges.  Either take less or pay.  Don't F up my flight.

[Indy Texas]

I'm going to be very uncharitable and say this whole thing has White Girl Problems written all over it.

In a mere two generations, we have gone from a country where a 22 year old adult was more often than not running a household with children or in the military fighting in an overseas conflict or operating a family farm or small business to one where a 22 year old bursts into tears over a checked baggage fee. Something happened around 1985 or so that caused just about every white American female born after that point to go through life in an extended childhood where no remotely adult situation is handled without a parent, where she is the special-est of the special snowflakes and any rule can be bent and any situation tailored to her favor if she just says, "Pretty please" enough times.

Let us review what this girl woman did wrong...

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I have family members who work in the airline industry. And if a carrier has a two-bag policy for carry-ons, it would probably behoove you not to show up at the gate with three carry-ons. These people are trying to board upwards of a hundred people in a very narrow timeframe. It's not their job to investigate whose bag belongs to who and just take your word for it when you say the third bag is actually your brother's/friend's/mother's/long-lost-twin-you-met-at-sleepaway-camp's.

The gate agent saw her carrying three bags. What was so inappropriate about her inquiring as to why she was doing this when it was against policy? Was the gate agent supposed to be able to read her mind and know the third bag didn't belong to her?

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Again, what was this girl smoking if she thought the gate crew were going to disrupt boarding to track down her brother? I'm assuming they both had cell phones and since the plane was still on the ground those cell phones should have been on - why didn't she call him and tell him to get his @$$ out there and get his bag?

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Because it's totally the gate agent's problem that you made the decision to fly across the country without a credit card and with only a debit card for an empty checking account.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I'm sure the first class passengers on the Titanic had similar thoughts about the steerage as well, Grumps and IndyTexas.

It's public transportation done in the most shoddy, nickle and dimey way... and every time the airlines make it worse for the customers... the Gumps and IndyTexases come out and complain

"WHY CAN'T THEY JUST BE PERFECT LIKE ME AND ACT AS IF THEY FLY ALL THE TIME"

If it's so easy... then why doesn't it ever work that way?  And if it's so easy... why aren't you flying an airline that requires such smooth behavior in order to operate?

No no no... they want her money just as much as they want yours.

I was on your side IndyTX until I read what actually happened.  And what it sounds like is someone who was flying that isn't used to flying and probably doesn't fly often because it's mostly unaffordable to her... had to fly for whatever reason.  And she wasn't expecting to have to start throwing around $100 to please a miserable gate attendant (I mean.. if this girl 'should've could've and would've'... the gate attendant, having had to deal with people like this all the time, could've had the compassion to say "just please put the purse in the bag before you get on the plane".

HOW DARE SHE HAVE TO FLY WITHOUT HAVING TONS OF EXTRA MONEY TO DISH OUT ON THE FLY?

Now there's a rich white people problem.  Not understanding why people don't just have a hundred dollars to throw around... to bring a f**king purse into an airplane.

Get over yourselves first, then get over this.

[Indy Texas]

I'm sure the first class passengers on the Titanic had similar thoughts about the steerage as well, Grumps and IndyTexas.

It's public transportation done in the most shoddy, nickle and dimey way... and every time the airlines make it worse for the customers... the Gumps and IndyTexases come out and complain

"WHY CAN'T THEY JUST BE PERFECT LIKE ME AND ACT AS IF THEY FLY ALL THE TIME"

If it's so easy... then why doesn't it ever work that way?  And if it's so easy... why aren't you flying an airline that requires such smooth behavior in order to operate?

No no no... they want her money just as much as they want yours.

I was on your side IndyTX until I read what actually happened.  And what it sounds like is someone who was flying that isn't used to flying and probably doesn't fly often because it's mostly unaffordable to her... had to fly for whatever reason.  And she wasn't expecting to have to start throwing around $100 to please a miserable gate attendant (I mean.. if this girl 'should've could've and would've'... the gate attendant, having had to deal with people like this all the time, could've had the compassion to say "just please put the purse in the bag before you get on the plane".

HOW DARE SHE HAVE TO FLY WITHOUT HAVING TONS OF EXTRA MONEY TO DISH OUT ON THE FLY?

Now there's a rich white people problem.  Not understanding why people don't just have a hundred dollars to throw around... to bring a f**king purse into an airplane.

Get over yourselves first, then get over this.

So now it's a "class warfare" issue? What if it had been a wealthy woman in first class complaining about not being allowed on the plane with three bags?

There are many corporations and industries deserving of scorn in this country, but the commercial airline industry isn't one of them. These are people who have been providing a service thanks to capital investments that have generated a worse rate of return than any other business - in most countries, the government has to pony up money for unprofitable public goods; here, it's inevitably some investor who is convinced that "this time it's going to be different."

How about if you own up to your red avatar and have some sympathy for the worker in this situation? Airline employees deal with people at their absolute worst on a daily basis and have somehow managed to be one of those rare islands of large-scale private industry where employees are not completely walked all over. Most of the money in your airfare is going to the sheer amount of jet fuel it takes to get a large steel machine to get off the ground and stay off the ground long enough to get you where you're going. As physics suggest, the best way to reduce the amount of jet fuel needed to do that - and keep your fare from being higher - is by discouraging people from behaving in ways that contribute to the weight of the plane - like bringing lots of luggage. Why should a person with only one bag pay the same amount as a person who chose to bring three? Wouldn't it make more sense for the person with three bags to bear the cost of those extra ones via a fee than to make both of them pay more?

As the article stated, the rolling bag was too big and needed to be checked. If this girl wants to get mad at someone, she should get mad at her brother and sister-in-law for ditching her and leaving her with a bag that they should have checked and didn't.

How would the gate attendant know that the purse was originally in her other bag or that it even fit in her other bag? Is it really her job to advise people on ways to arrange their luggage such that they reduce the amount of revenue their airline brings in?

Whether she flies often or not, she handled the situation poorly. You know what the carry-on rules are when you buy your ticket. A 22 year old should not be yelling and crying over a luggage misunderstanding.

[King]

If you're not traveling light, you're not traveling.

[bedstuy]

The problem I have is that putting one bag into another bag is fairly standard behavior.  People will have a laptop case in the suitcase or a camera bag in their backpack.  It's not cheating the system unless the two bags you bring on are too big or heavy.

It's also a deceptive business practice to demand this toll when someone is about to board without providing clear notice beforehand.

I think the solution is that the airline should weigh all of your luggage, carry-on and checked at the time of your check in and you should pay per pound.

[Link]

I think the solution is that the airline should weigh all of your luggage, carry-on and checked at the time of your check in and you should pay per pound.

I think the passengers should get up on the scale too.  It is total BS someone like me who is a tall athletic male should be crammed into some BS coach seat and nickel and dimed for each of my small bags and some fat @$$ strolls on board with a steamer trunk and doesn't pay a penny more.

I don't do that gigantic carry on bag in coach nonsense.  I just get a good size suitcase and check it.  I pay the $25 and relax for my flight.  Unfortunately I have to deal with all the cheap lard @$$es who don't want to eat something other than McDonald's or check any bags.

What really pisses me off is when I have a reasonable carry on bag with some delicate stuff in it and I am forced to check it because idiots got on with gigantic bags and took up all the over head bins.

Really this is a collaboration between corporations and cheap fat consumers.  The rest of us are screwed.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I think the solution is that the airline should weigh all of your luggage, carry-on and checked at the time of your check in and you should pay per pound.

I think the passengers should get up on the scale too.  It is total BS someone like me who is a tall athletic male should be crammed into some BS coach seat and nickel and dimed for each of my small bags and some fat @$$ strolls on board with a steamer trunk and doesn't pay a penny more.

I don't do that gigantic carry on bag in coach nonsense.  I just get a good size suitcase and check it.  I pay the $25 and relax for my flight.  Unfortunately I have to deal with all the cheap lard @$$es who don't want to eat something other than McDonald's or check any bags.

What really pisses me off is when I have a reasonable carry on bag with some delicate stuff in it and I am forced to check it because idiots got on with gigantic bags and took up all the over head bins.

Really this is a collaboration between corporations and cheap fat consumers.  The rest of us are screwed.

Your personality is the equivalent of freezing rain.  I doubt your tall athletic build makes up for that.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I'm sure the first class passengers on the Titanic had similar thoughts about the steerage as well, Grumps and IndyTexas.

It's public transportation done in the most shoddy, nickle and dimey way... and every time the airlines make it worse for the customers... the Gumps and IndyTexases come out and complain

"WHY CAN'T THEY JUST BE PERFECT LIKE ME AND ACT AS IF THEY FLY ALL THE TIME"

If it's so easy... then why doesn't it ever work that way?  And if it's so easy... why aren't you flying an airline that requires such smooth behavior in order to operate?

No no no... they want her money just as much as they want yours.

I was on your side IndyTX until I read what actually happened.  And what it sounds like is someone who was flying that isn't used to flying and probably doesn't fly often because it's mostly unaffordable to her... had to fly for whatever reason.  And she wasn't expecting to have to start throwing around $100 to please a miserable gate attendant (I mean.. if this girl 'should've could've and would've'... the gate attendant, having had to deal with people like this all the time, could've had the compassion to say "just please put the purse in the bag before you get on the plane".

HOW DARE SHE HAVE TO FLY WITHOUT HAVING TONS OF EXTRA MONEY TO DISH OUT ON THE FLY?

Now there's a rich white people problem.  Not understanding why people don't just have a hundred dollars to throw around... to bring a f**king purse into an airplane.

Get over yourselves first, then get over this.

So now it's a "class warfare" issue? What if it had been a wealthy woman in first class complaining about not being allowed on the plane with three bags?

There are many corporations and industries deserving of scorn in this country, but the commercial airline industry isn't one of them. These are people who have been providing a service thanks to capital investments that have generated a worse rate of return than any other business - in most countries, the government has to pony up money for unprofitable public goods; here, it's inevitably some investor who is convinced that "this time it's going to be different."

How about if you own up to your red avatar and have some sympathy for the worker in this situation? Airline employees deal with people at their absolute worst on a daily basis and have somehow managed to be one of those rare islands of large-scale private industry where employees are not completely walked all over. Most of the money in your airfare is going to the sheer amount of jet fuel it takes to get a large steel machine to get off the ground and stay off the ground long enough to get you where you're going. As physics suggest, the best way to reduce the amount of jet fuel needed to do that - and keep your fare from being higher - is by discouraging people from behaving in ways that contribute to the weight of the plane - like bringing lots of luggage. Why should a person with only one bag pay the same amount as a person who chose to bring three? Wouldn't it make more sense for the person with three bags to bear the cost of those extra ones via a fee than to make both of them pay more?

As the article stated, the rolling bag was too big and needed to be checked. If this girl wants to get mad at someone, she should get mad at her brother and sister-in-law for ditching her and leaving her with a bag that they should have checked and didn't.

How would the gate attendant know that the purse was originally in her other bag or that it even fit in her other bag? Is it really her job to advise people on ways to arrange their luggage such that they reduce the amount of revenue their airline brings in?

Whether she flies often or not, she handled the situation poorly. You know what the carry-on rules are when you buy your ticket. A 22 year old should not be yelling and crying over a luggage misunderstanding.

Oh I'm plenty sympathetic to the employees of the airlines.  But it's not passengers like this one that ruin their day.  This girl had a misunderstanding, wasn't properly prepared, and became emotionally overwhelmed.  That can be a taxing situation for any employee but ultimately you can deal with it because you're in a position to make the situation better which will ultimately make the customer very thankful.

Instead what I've seen more often in flying are entitled people like Link, you, and Grumps who have it all figured out.  You're "professional flyers" who "deserve better treatment" and feel entitled to being separated and treated better than the unwashed masses trying to carry on too much stuff.

You're entitled to pay your cheap fare and because you squeezed your sh**t into a slightly smaller bag... you have the right to begin pontificating about the riff raff trying to board the plane.

This attitude infects people that are generally very kind. 

The flying situation has gotten to the point where it is no longer affordable for many people and the airlines are doing whatever they can to keep people in the air.  The result is that customers begin turning on other customers.  It's no longer just a sh**tty situation where there is no real alternative.. it's me vs. the riff raff fat asses who "just want to eat McDonalds" who don't even have to pay more than YOU!

Do you wonder why high speed rail often overtakes and outcompetes flying even if it takes longer?  Because going by train is more comfortable.  Unfortunately in the U.S. we have no such alternative.

[Link]

I think the solution is that the airline should weigh all of your luggage, carry-on and checked at the time of your check in and you should pay per pound.

I think the passengers should get up on the scale too.  It is total BS someone like me who is a tall athletic male should be crammed into some BS coach seat and nickel and dimed for each of my small bags and some fat @$$ strolls on board with a steamer trunk and doesn't pay a penny more.

I don't do that gigantic carry on bag in coach nonsense.  I just get a good size suitcase and check it.  I pay the $25 and relax for my flight.  Unfortunately I have to deal with all the cheap lard @$$es who don't want to eat something other than McDonald's or check any bags.

What really pisses me off is when I have a reasonable carry on bag with some delicate stuff in it and I am forced to check it because idiots got on with gigantic bags and took up all the over head bins.

Really this is a collaboration between corporations and cheap fat consumers.  The rest of us are screwed.

Your personality is the equivalent of freezing rain.  I doubt your tall athletic build makes up for that.

I guess I was just raised to be considerate to my fellow human beings especially when being stuffed in tight spaces.  It's called manners and self respect.  If I can't afford to go on a trip properly without inconveniencing other people, guess what?  I skip the trip.  It's as simple as that.

If you have a point to make Snowguy716 then make it.  Just attacking other posters is not a way to have a discussion.  Here let me demonstrate...




The problem with the airlines is emblematic of many of the problems facing our country.  Instead of addressing the underlying issue people make up some red herring that they think is more politically expedient.

People want to blame Obama, health insurance companies, and doctors for the costs and problems with healthcare.  But the fact of the matter is if we all got more exercise, stop smoking, lost some weight, and got a better diet that would eliminate a chunk of our healthcare costs right there.  But we aren't going to do it.

It's just like I'm at the airport and they tell me my bag is overweight because it has a book in it that makes it weigh half a pound too much.  Meanwhile there is a 270 lb woman standing in line behind me.  How am I supposed to take this situation seriously?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

My good friend Snowy  needs to miss a few more connecting flights. 

[ag]

I think the solution is that the airline should weigh all of your luggage, carry-on and checked at the time of your check in and you should pay per pound.

I think the passengers should get up on the scale too.  It is total BS someone like me who is a tall athletic male should be crammed into some BS coach seat and nickel and dimed for each of my small bags and some fat @$$ strolls on board with a steamer trunk and doesn't pay a penny more.

You are tall - you take space. They should also measure you. This short fat sh**t thinks nobody above 6´ should be allowed on a plane - they are clearly oversized. Tall and athletic guys should simply run wherever they need to get to.

[DC Al Fine]

If anything it shows the importance of keeping a few hundred bucks in your checking account as a cushion when these things come up.

[bedstuy]

If anything it shows the importance of keeping a few hundred bucks in your checking account as a cushion when these things come up.

A good portion of poor people don't have checking accounts.

[DC Al Fine]

If anything it shows the importance of keeping a few hundred bucks in your checking account as a cushion when these things come up.

A good portion of poor people don't have checking accounts.

True, but what % of those people are spending $100's on airline tickets?

[bedstuy]

If anything it shows the importance of keeping a few hundred bucks in your checking account as a cushion when these things come up.

A good portion of poor people don't have checking accounts.

True, but what % of those people are spending $100's on airline tickets?

Not frequently for sure, but if we're talking about people who might not have access to a credit card or bank account with $1000 or more, we're talking about poor people or people with a weird financial set-up.  If we're talking about poor people, it's kind of silly to assume they can put away hundreds of dollars or have access to the same types of financial products as middle class and above people.

[politicallefty]

I'm most disgusted at how airlines are nickle-and-diming passengers for almost everything now. It was bad enough that they started going after checked baggage, but going after carry-on luggage as well is ridiculous. Any time I've ever flown, I have one checked bag consisting mainly of clothing and one carry-on that consists primarily of in-flight entertainment and a few other extra things. I always make sure my carry-on is small enough to fit under the seat in front of me (it's never anything too much bigger than a backpack). I'd bet my weight and the weight of all my luggage is less than the average person. I wouldn't have a problem with having some portion of airfare being based on total weight of the passenger and luggage (provided you have the right not to have someone else spill over into your seat, as small as they already are).

[Indy Texas]

If anything it shows the importance of keeping a few hundred bucks in your checking account as a cushion when these things come up.

A good portion of poor people don't have checking accounts.

True, but what % of those people are spending $100's on airline tickets?

Not frequently for sure, but if we're talking about people who might not have access to a credit card or bank account with $1000 or more, we're talking about poor people or people with a weird financial set-up.  If we're talking about poor people, it's kind of silly to assume they can put away hundreds of dollars or have access to the same types of financial products as middle class and above people.

Could someone please explain why poor people can't be bothered to open bank accounts? The credit union I have my checking account at has accounts that have no maintenance fees and all you have to do is have an average account balance of no less than five dollars during a given month. Surely that's easier than paying all those check cashing fees and charges to pay bills with money orders and whatnot.

[bedstuy]

If anything it shows the importance of keeping a few hundred bucks in your checking account as a cushion when these things come up.

A good portion of poor people don't have checking accounts.

True, but what % of those people are spending $100's on airline tickets?

Not frequently for sure, but if we're talking about people who might not have access to a credit card or bank account with $1000 or more, we're talking about poor people or people with a weird financial set-up.  If we're talking about poor people, it's kind of silly to assume they can put away hundreds of dollars or have access to the same types of financial products as middle class and above people.

Could someone please explain why poor people can't be bothered to open bank accounts? The credit union I have my checking account at has accounts that have no maintenance fees and all you have to do is have an average account balance of no less than five dollars during a given month. Surely that's easier than paying all those check cashing fees and charges to pay bills with money orders and whatnot.

1.  They don't belong to your credit union.  My bank I think requires $1500 minimum daily balance to avoid a monthly service fee.  And many banks will hit you with fees and overdraft penalties when you're poor.

2.  Hiding money from judgements/child support and engaging in various types of welfare fraud to qualify for public assistance programs.

3.  Low information and knowledge about personal finance.

[Fritz]

Frontier is the worst.  I flew with them in December.  Doesn't every airline offer free pop or water, and snacky items to their passengers?  I thought so, but apparently Frontier doesn't- two bucks for a pop, credit card only.  Why don't they just raise the fare by two bucks instead?  Nobody would notice or care.