A report has revealed publicly for the first time how much airline staff get paid for cracking down on carry-on bags.
Budget airlines Frontier and Spirit paid gate agents a huge $26 million in commission between 2022 and 2023 ‘to catch passengers allegedly not following airline bag policies, often forcing those passengers to pay a bag fee or miss their flight.’
Frontier workers can earn as much as $10 for each bag a passenger is forced to check in at the gate, according to the Senate subcommittee report released last month.
Spirit employees, meanwhile, can earn $5 for charging for an oversize carry-on at the gate.
Carry-on bags are not included in basic fares for Frontier or Spirit, the latter of which filed for bankruptcy protection last month amid a long run of quarterly losses.
Instead, customers can bring a smaller ‘personal item’ on board for free, but are charged on the spot at the gate if this is deemed too large.
Staff could ‘abuse’ the bonus program in order to earn more, the report said, by unfairly categorizing an item as too large in order to collect a fee.
It comes after several social media videos have gone viral, showing furious customers being charged for personal items on Frontier which appear to fit into the bag checker at the gate.
A report has revealed publicly for the first time how much airline staff get paid for cracking down on carry-on bags
Frontier passengers are charged $99 at the gate if their personal item is considered too large and therefore constitutes a carry-on bag in the eyes of the airline.
Spirit customers, meanwhile, are charged $65.
The report also detailed how airlines offer incentives to staff for selling premium seats to customers.
For domestic flights, Frontier workers earned $10 for each oversize carry-on bag bought at the gate or online within an hour of the flight’s departure.
Employees also earned $3 for carry-on bags bought at the ticket counter, and $3 for selling seats with extra leg room, according to the congressional report.
The airline’s commissions were smaller for international flights: $1 for bags charged at the gate or online and $0.50 for those purchased at the ticket counter, Business Insider reported.
Spirit staff earned $5 for charging for an oversize carry-on bag at the gate, or for selling the so-called ‘Big Front Seat’ to a customer.
They could also receive $4 in commission for flagging overweight checked bags, and $2 for selling exit-row seats.
Some managers at both airlines also earned a commission if their airport met a specific monthly revenue goal from charging these fees, the report found.
Workers are ineligible for the commission, however, if it causes ‘guest experience ratings’ to decline or complaints to increase.
Both Frontier and Spirit saw baggage complaints increase after the incentive programs were introduced, according to Department of Transportation data analyzed by the subcommittee.
‘The Department of Transportation should investigate potential abuses in the use of incentive-based collection of ancillary fees, prohibit unfair and deceptive practices, and assess civil penalties if appropriate,’ the report said.
Spirit staff earned $5 for charging for an oversize carry-on bag at the gate, or for selling the so-called ‘Big Front Seat’ to a customer
Frontier workers also earned $3 for carry-on bags bought at the ticket counter, and $3 for selling seats with extra leg room, according to the congressional report
Some managers at Frontier and Spirit also earned a commission if their airport met a specific monthly revenue goal from charging extra fees
Both airlines denied that the programs were being abused, and Frontier’s vice president of pricing and revenue management told the subcommittee that the airline did not want customers ‘to take more services than they have paid for.’
In response to the viral videos, he ‘raised the possibility of the item containing a lithium battery’ as a reason why an item might be denied, despite otherwise appearing to fit into the size checker.
He ‘then declined to provide a clear answer,’ the report said.
Both airlines emphasized the goal of treating guests ‘fairly’ and ‘equally,’ in statements.
Spokespeople for both airlines said the budget business model unbundles fares and increases people’s access to affordable flights.
‘We respectfully disagree with numerous statements and conclusions contained in the report,” Spirit told DailyMail.com.
‘With that in mind, we believe it’s time to come together and discuss meaningful initiatives that would even the playing field between larger and smaller airlines to benefit all travelers.’
A Frontier spokesperson said: ‘The commission for gate agents is simply designed to incentivize our team members to ensure compliance with bag size requirements so that all customers are treated equally and fairly, including the majority who comply with the rules.’