Frontier Airlines is under fire after it was revealed this week that employees receive a $10 bonus once they charge a passenger that pesky oversized luggage fee.
The inducement got here to light after Salt Lake City journalist Dyana Villa went viral for filming herself and one other passenger being told their carry-on bags didn’t meet the dimensions requirements for a flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Denver.
The series of videos logged tens of millions of views on TikTok, with one commenter claiming that Frontier Airlines employees get a commission every time they charge for an oversized bag.
Villa claims she heard from an unidentified Frontier Airlines flight attendant herself that it’s a $10 bonus.
The Post reached out to Villa and Frontier Airlines for comment.
A spokesperson for the discount airline told The Independent the bonus is “simply an incentive for our airport customer support agents to assist ensure compliance with our policies and that each one customers are treated equally.”
Villa’s story took off as she asked people to sign a petition to “stop Frontier Airlines from overcharging passengers.”
Her clips showed herself and one other passenger near the DC gate placing their bags within the measurement bins, that are used to find out if luggage will fit within the overhead compartment or under the seat before boarding.
Arguing ensues between the ladies and the Frontier employees.
“I used to be told my bag was too big for a private Item, yet once I put it within the measuring bin…It fit perfectly nice. This happened to 2 other individuals and we were charged $100,” Villa explained in her petition.
“One in all the passengers even needed to throw away all of her personal belongings to the trash so as to fly because they closed the gate on us. After paying I finally got on, but little did I do know the nightmare I’d live in Denver.”
She continued: “I used to be filming my bag to prove my bag fit within the bin, and I used to be denied the access to fly to Salt Lake City due to the video. I used to be told I couldn’t film since it was private property and I didn’t have consent to film my bag.”
The Frontier spokesperson told the Independent the clips didn’t show the entire story.
“The video fails to point out that the client using the sizer box had a further carry-on bag,” the spokesperson told the outlet.
“Each customer is allowed one free personal item that must fit inside the smaller sizer box. This customer had multiple bag and so they weren’t capable of mix them right into a single bag that slot in the non-public item box.”
When flying Frontier, the dimensions of a carry-on bag ought to be lower than 24 inches tall, 16 inches wide, and 10 inches deep and under 35 kilos, including handles, wheels and straps.
A private bag shouldn’t exceed 14 inches tall, 18 inches wide and eight inches deep including handles, wheels and straps.
If a bag doesn’t meet those requirements, flyers could be charged anywhere from $50 to $100.
Villa’s heated interaction comes after President Biden called out airline fees in his State of the Union address in January.
He referred to them as “junk” fees and promised to push the airlines, resorts, and even ticket sellers to make their pricing systems more “transparent.”
The Department of Transportation recently proposed a rule that might make it mandatory for airlines and online booking platforms to point out the whole ticket price upfront. That price would come with baggage fees and other essential payments.
“We’re making airlines show you the complete ticket price upfront and refund your money in case your flight is canceled or delayed,” Biden said through the address.
“And we’ll prohibit airlines from charging as much as $50 roundtrip for families just to take a seat together. Baggage fees are bad enough — they will’t just treat your child like a bit of baggage.”