When I woke up this morning and saw the news I couldn’t believe my eyes. Ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) Frontier Airlines announced today that it is adding First Class seats to its airplanes along with some significant loyalty perks. These changes come a few months after fellow ULCC, Spirit Airlines announced a massive overhaul to its business model with an eye towards more premium travel.
These upgrades come as part of the airline’s new corporate strategy, dubbed The New Frontier. Beginning in 2025, these enhancements deliver more comfort, value, and rewards for travelers. The major features of this initiative are the aforementioned First Class seating as well as free seat upgrades into Frontier’s premium seat offerings for Elite members, unlimited free companion travel, and more ways to redeem miles.
Barry Biffle, CEO of Frontier Airlines, had this to say about the changes:
“Travelers should expect more from their airline and, in 2025, Frontier will deliver as we continue our transformation into the most rewarding airline in the sky. 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. These changes represent an exciting new chapter in our transformation into The New Frontier.”
Personally, I’m excited to see Frontier provide more premium travel options. Spirit recently made changes to its business model and I had the chance to check it out on a recent trip (review to come shortly). With Frontier adding premium seating, that will leave Allegiant as the only major ULCC to not offer “First Class” style seats. Who would have guessed Frontier would roll out First Class Before JetBlue?!
Frontier Airlines First Class Seats
First Class is expected to make its debut on Frontier Airlines planes in late 2025. Unlike Spirit, which already had a “Big Front Seat” option, Frontier will have to retrofit their planes to include this new class of seating.
The airline has released renderings of the new seat and, while it’s not cutting edge, it appears to be a comfortable product at first glance.
The airline plans to convert the first two rows of its planes into First Class. In a standard 2-2 configuration that will give each Frontier Airlines plane 8 First Class seats. Frontier Elite Gold members and above will be eligible for free upgrades into these seats on a space available basis.
Upgraded Frontier Elite Member Perks
In addition of First Class seating, Frontier has added more perks for elite members in its loyalty program. Beginning early 2025, Frontier’s Elite loyalty members with Gold status or above will enjoy free, space available upgrades on every flight. This will range from UpFront Plus seating with guaranteed empty middle seats to the aforementioned First Class seating.
Platinum and Diamond members get a major new perk with free, unlimited companion travel. Starting mid-2025, elite members can bring a friend or family member on any flight. Thuis perk allows for an unlimited number of bookings for anyone, on any flight. Companion Travel fares are subject to government-imposed taxes and fees and the companion must have a Frontier Miles account number, added at the time of initial booking within the same ticket.
Finally, beginning in mid-2025, Frontier Miles members can use miles for more than flights. Passengers will be able to redeem miles for bundled options such as baggage, seats, and other add-ons. These will extend across the airline’s four tailored bundles: Basic, Economy, Premium, and Business.
Summary
Frontier is making quite the change to its business model which should make it more enticing to premium travelers. Frontier is the second major ULCC, after Spirit, that has announced plans to add First Class seating options onboard. While I’m a fan of the changes, and will be more inclined to fly Frontier if the price and timing are right, I do believe that there is a place for ULCCs in the North American aviation market.
With both Frontier and Spirit moving more upmarket, it leaves Allegiant as the sole remaining ULCC without a First Class product. I’ll be keeping an eye out for pricing of the new product as it comes online and hope to try it out soon!
