Dive Brief:
- Frontier Airlines, known for its ultra low-cost fares, is offering first-class seats starting in late 2025, the company announced Tuesday.
- First-class seats, free seat upgrades for Elite Gold members and the ability to fly with a companion for free for Platinum and Diamond Elite members are all part of “The New Frontier,” the airline’s transformation plan for 2025. The company will also offer the ability to redeem miles for Frontier’s bundles in mid-2025.
- “We've listened to customers, and they want more — more premium options, like first class seating, attainable seat upgrades, more free travel for their companions, and the ability to use miles on more than just airfare,” Barry Biffle, president and CEO of Frontier Airlines, said in a prepared statement.
Dive Insight:
Frontier is the latest airline to offer more premium services in response to demand from customers.
Southwest Airlines plans to make bookings available for premium seating with extended legroom next year in response to customer feedback, while JetBlue, looking to become the best East Coast leisure network, is opening airport lounges.
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines has is adding more premium seating to its aircraft, opening new airport lounges, improving its in-flight Wi-Fi, and offering a business loyalty program.
Airlines’ premium offerings are as much an effort to meet customer demands as it is to grow revenue.
During an October earnings call, Biffle said the path back to double-digit margins was through The New Frontier plan, premium products and loyalty program enhancements.
“We're seeing real attraction in our premium products,” Biffle said.
The airline, he said, is looking to offer such premium services at a lower price than its competitors to grow its base.
Frontier is “providing a product at a lower cost than anybody else can” to its customers who didn’t necessarily have access to the premium services they want, Biffle said during the company’s October earnings call. “That's still in its maturation phase as well and helps us as we're trying to both grow our customer base and retain who we've got.”
