Are you the type of traveler who arrives last minute before your flight? If you’re a Frontier Airlines passenger, you might want to change your habit. Frontier Airlines announced that it is going to close check-in counters 60 minutes before departure starting August 16. This will force passengers to show up at the airport earlier than most US airlines.
Currently, the airline maintains its check-in counters open until 45 minutes before domestic flight departures. This 45-minute check-in policy is shared by United, American, and Southwest. As for JetBlue, you can check your bags at least 40 minutes before the flight. And for Delta, you can still get your bags checked-in 30 minutes before departure.
Closing Check-in Counters Early as a Money-Making Scheme?
According to their spokesperson, Jennifer de la Cruz, this change will make the check-in process uniform across all Frontier flights.
She said that “Increasing the standard check-in and bag drop cutoff from the current 45 minutes to 60 minutes prior to scheduled departure will help to ensure ample time for customers to get through security and to their gate, as well as allow additional time for bags to move through airport handling systems to aircraft.” “It will also serve to standardize the cutoff times for both international and domestic travel,” she added.
Despite the explanation, the update received mixed reactions from passengers. Some believe that it was a ploy to get more customers to use Frontier’s app. Others, on the other hand, accuse the airline of running a “money-making scheme.”
A user said that “This is obviously a money-making scheme so more people have to buy replacement flights when they miss the check in window. If 45 minutes isn’t enough, maybe they should increase their staffing levels.”
Expect a High Volume of Passengers
Now that passenger volume is high while air traffic controllers are limited, experts recommend that you arrive more than 1 hour before your scheduled flight. If you’re flying domestically, travel advisors suggest that you arrive at the airport at least 90 minutes before flight. For international flights, you’ll need two to three hours to make sure you get to your boarding gate on time.
