Frontier Airlines Drops Open Seat Fee After Criticism

Frontier Airlines said it will drop plans that allowed passengers to purchase an empty middle seat to guarantee social distancing, after Congressional leaders criticized the move as profiting from safety. 

CEO Barry Biffle said late Wednesday that the airline will rescind the extra fee and block the seats from being sold. Frontier was going to charge $39 for the “More Room” seats beginning May 8 through the end of August.

“We recognize the concerns raised that we are profiting from safety and this was never our intent,” Biffle said in a letter to three lawmakers. “We simply wanted to provide our customers with an option for more space.”

“We will leave the seats blocked which were associated with this product and honor purchases made by all customers who bought the product up until now.”

Peter DeFazio, the Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure called it “outrageous”. He said that the Denver-based airline was using the need for social distancing during a pandemic “as an opportunity to make a buck … capitalizing on fear and passengers’ well-founded concerns for their health and safety.”

During Wednesday’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said “I don’t think it’s appropriate for some passengers who can’t afford to pay an additional charge for a seat to be less safe than other travelers.”