Frontier Airlines is cutting in half the fees its customers pay to change their tickets and is offering a $5 discount for passengers that check their bags online.
For tickets purchased on or after Wednesday, Frontier will charge a $50 change fee for alterations to coach class tickets, down from a previous $100. Customers who check a bag online will pay $15, down from the standard $20. Airlines including Delta and United-Continental give $2 discounts. Those checking a bag online pay the fee as part of the regular ticket purchase process and then drop the bag off later at the airport.
Frontier, which is owned by Republic Airways Holdings Inc., is also removing the flat fee for checked bicycles. Economy passengers will now just pay a standard $20 bag fee if they only have one other piece of luggage along.
The Denver airline also announced Wednesday it will form Frontier Express, a brand that will operate all the airline's smaller jets. Frontier said service and amenities will be different on those flights compared with those on its bigger planes, but it didn't say what will be limited.
All major airlines have "express" brands that operate smaller planes on regional flights. The models were designed as a way to cut costs.