Frontier has long been criticized for its controversial bag policy.
For context, Frontier passengers are allowed to carry a personal item onto their flights for free. However, if a gate agent determines that the bag is oversized using the airline’s bag sizer, the passenger will be required to pay for a carry-on bag, which can cost around $100.
This is controversial, as there are numerous documented cases of bags clearly fitting into the company’s bag sizer, yet gate agents still charge travelers for a carry-on bag.
Furthermore, the company confirmed to The Independent in March that gate agents are given bonuses for making passengers buy carry-on bags, leading many to speculate that agents make customers pay for bags unnecessarily so that they can get cash bonuses.
This can apparently lead to further issues beyond passenger strife, as TikTok user Craig Miceli (@craigmiceli) noted in a video that now has over 10,000 views.
In the video, Miceli says that the company’s focus on sizing everyone’s bags and charging for them meant that the flight missed their takeoff time. As such, passengers had to be delayed by at least two hours.
@craigmiceli @Frontier Airlines flight delay due to weather from 5:35p to 6:04p. The flight attendant decided it was super important for bag sizing rather than try to get the plane in the air as quick as possible. We werent even ready to leave until about 6:30p. Then a sick passenger had to have medics remove from the plane due to policy. To top it off, the pilots reached their limit just as we were about to takeoff so back to the gate to deplane. The 20-25 min wasted bag sizing would have been the difference between in air and on the ground regardless of the sick passenger. #frontierairlines #deplane #airlinehorrorstories #airlinehorrorstory #frontiersucks #regret ♬ original sound – Craig Miceli
“They were more concerned about sizing bags to make sure that they could get $99 from someone who couldn’t fit their bag into the sizer—more concerned about that than getting the plane into the air in time,” he says in the video.
While the plane had already been slightly delayed due to weather and a sick passenger, Miceli says that the additional time spent sizing bags is what pushed the flight over the edge of their allotted time.
“The 20-25 min wasted bag sizing would have been the difference between in air and on the ground regardless of the sick passenger,” he explains in the caption.
Miceli later posted a follow-up video revealing that the flight reboarded 5 hours later—and was promptly canceled.
@craigmiceli Unreal… delayed until 11:15p only to reboard and then cancel the flight. Ridiculous! Even the meal vouchers and rebooking option emails didnt work. All this for 30 minutes of rain delay. All email customer service offered was 20000 points since they blamed the weather. No ownership of bag sizing or overworking pilots causing the delays. Absolutely absurd! #frontierairlines #deplane #airlinehorrorstories #regret #frontiersucks #cancel ♬ original sound – Craig Miceli
“Why would you board us just to cancel us?” asks Miceli in the video. “Could you not figure it out before you boarded the plane? I mean, seriously, what kind of nonsense is Frontier running with here?”
In the comments section, users called on customers to stop flying Frontier—and on regulators to take action against them.
“It’s been months of this and people are still choosing Frontier?” asked a commenter.
“If the FAA doesn’t do something soon this will spread across the air travel market,” wrote another. “Frontier needs to be fined and the CEO needs to be removed.”
“Pete Buttigieg, have you been paying attention to this? How long are you going to let this airline scam consumers???” questioned a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Frontier via email and Miceli via TikTok comment.
Update 3:43pm CT June 7: In an email to the Daily Dot, a Frontier spokesperson claimed that the flight delays were due to weather delays and a passenger medical, which caused the flight crew to work overtime. This led to the flight being eventually canceled, as the crew had to deboard.
“The inbound aircraft scheduled to operate flight 2302 from Denver to Atlanta was placed in a holding pattern over Denver based on weather and arrived close to an hour late,” the spokesperson stated. “Once the aircraft parked at the gate and passengers were on board, the flight could not depart based on lightning in the area which shut down the ramp and halted flight operations causing the aircraft to remain at the gate approximately 90 minutes. The aircraft eventually pulled away from the gate ready for departure when a passenger medical situation arose which forced the aircraft to return to the gate causing another 40-minute delay. At that point, the flight crew had been on duty for too long which precluded them from continuing with the flight. Attempts were made to recrew the flight but ultimately the flight had to be cancelled. None of the multiple factors which led to the flight’s delay and subsequent cancellation were in any way related to the screening of bag sizes at the gate. The customer’s accusation is unfounded and not based in fact.”
