Frontier Airlines sets price for all-you-can-fly pass

There are significant caveats, like the fact that the pass comes with dozens of blackout dates when travel is not permitted, many of them around major holidays (“Flights are available 300+ days a year,” the airline says). But the biggest one is that the purchaser can only get a confirmed flight booking the day before departure (or starting 10 days before departure for international flights), which can make advance travel planning uncertain at best (“Last seat availability is not guaranteed,” Frontier said). Frontier is also borrowing a sales tactic from the publishing industry. Did you ever sign up for a magazine or newspaper subscription only to find that your credit card was automatically billed months later for a renewal? Frontier said the GoWild! pass “will automatically renew for successive one-year terms unless you cancel.”

Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s Transportation Department this week continued its get-tough policy toward airlines on behalf of consumers by slapping half a dozen carriers with big fines and ordering them to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds to passengers. During the pandemic, DOT said, it received “a flood of complaints from air travelers about airlines’ failures to provide timely refunds after they had their flights canceled or significantly changed.” Under those circumstances, DOT rules require an airline to pay back the affected travelers promptly. The agency has been investigating these problems for months and warning airlines that there would be consequences.

The agency’s latest enforcement action ordered six carriers to issue more than $600 million in refunds to aggrieved passengers. DOT is also fining the six carriers a total of $7.25 million “for extreme delays in providing refunds.” Only one U.S. carrier was among the six: Frontier Airlines, which was ordered to pay $222 million in refunds and a $2.2 million fine. The other five carriers and the sums involved were TAP Air Portugal ($126.5 million in refunds and a $1.1 million penalty); Air India ($121.5 million and a $1.4 million fine); Avianca ($76.8 million and $750,000); El Al ($61.9 million and $900,000); and Aeromexico ($13.6 million and $900,000). During the worst months of the pandemic, air travel demand was decimated and carriers’ schedules were slashed; many carriers, desperate to hang onto the ticket revenues they had already collected, offered affected travelers future travel credits. But as DOT noted, it “is unlawful for an airline to refuse refunds and instead provide vouchers to such consumers” if the passenger doesn’t want one.

If you’re the kind of person who simply can’t travel — even by air — to a family Thanksgiving get-together without bringing something for the table, you have to be careful to pack that item accordingly before you head to the airport. The Transportation Security Administration has issued some advice for food-bearing travelers in that regard. Generally speaking, TSA said, “If it’s a solid item, then it can go through a checkpoint. However, if you can spill it, spread it, spray it, pump it or pour it, and it’s larger than 3.4 ounces, then it should go in a checked bag.” Things that can go through the screening checkpoint — in a carry-on bag or otherwise — include pies and other baked goods; meats (including turkey) whether frozen, cooked or uncooked; stuffing; casseroles; macaroni and cheese; fresh vegetables and fruit; candy; and spices. Things that should be carefully packed in your checked luggage include cranberry sauce (even canned), gravy, wine or cider, canned fruit or vegetables; jams and jellies; and maple syrup.

JetBlue has made its long-expected announcement of a second European destination, with plans to start flying to Paris Charles de Gaulle next summer from New York JFK, followed later by Boston-Paris service. The airline didn’t specify starting dates for the new routes, but it did say it expects to shake up pricing in those markets with lower fares. JetBlue broke into the trans-Atlantic market this year when it introduced service to London Heathrow and London Gatwick airports from JFK and Boston.

“With service to both London and Paris, JetBlue will play a unique role in disrupting high-fare legacy carriers that have used joint ventures and global alliances to dominate these routes for decades,” the company said in a swipe at the massive presence of the American-British Airways partnership on routes to London and Delta-Air France to Paris. (JetBlue has an alliance with American in Boston and New York, but its London routes are not marketed as part of that partnership.) JetBlue uses long-range, single-aisle Airbus A321s for its trans-Atlantic flights, offering 114 economy seats (24 of them with extra legroom) and 24 Mint suites with fully flat seats and privacy doors.

In other international route news, United Airlines this week introduced nonstop service from its Washington Dulles hub to Cape Town, South Africa, operating three flights a week. The new route supplements United’s existing Newark-Cape Town route, which recently went from seasonal to year-round service. United also flies from Newark to Johannesburg and from Washington Dulles to Accra, Ghana, and Lagos, Nigeria.

Norse Atlantic, the Scandinavian low-cost trans-Atlantic carrier, plans to trim its U.S. schedules a bit for next summer. Its Los Angeles-Oslo service, currently suspended for the winter, will return March 28, 2023, with two weekly flights, down from three a week this year, but there was no mention of reviving LAX-Berlin flights next summer. Its New York JFK-Oslo route will continue its winter schedule of three flights a week into next summer instead of returning to the daily fights it offered this year, while JFK-Berlin, which operated daily this past summer and three days a week this winter, will offer four weekly flights next summer. JFK-London Gatwick will maintain daily service next summer.

On the domestic side, Southwest Airlines will tweak its California schedules in January, ending two routes and adding a new one in the state, according to the Points Guy. Getting the ax effective Jan. 4, 2023, are Southwest’s flights from Orange County’s John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana to Chicago Midway and to Salt Lake City; then on Jan. 5, the carrier will introduce new daily service from Long Beach Airport to Salt Lake City. Next spring, Southwest will add Saturday-only flights on a few new routes beginning April 15 — Denver to Bellingham, Washington (near the Canadian border and Vancouver); Denver to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Orlando, Florida, to Des Moines, Iowa. Also in April, Southwest will expand service at Kansas City, Missouri, restoring routes to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Indianapolis and adding more frequencies on its Kansas City routes to Los Angeles, San Diego, Atlanta and St. Louis.

Spirit Airlines has dropped more than three dozen routes in its latest schedule update, according to the Points Guy. In the western U.S., that includes service from Los Angeles to Milwaukee, from Denver to Houston’s Bush Intercontinental and from Phoenix to Kansas City, Milwaukee and St. Louis. Most of the other suspended routes are from the Midwest or the Northeast to Florida. The suspensions might be temporary. “The airline expects to reenter most, if not all, of these routes in the coming months, as confirmed by a carrier spokesperson,” the Points Guy said. Meanwhile, American Airlines will drop its Boston-Toronto route on Jan. 9, 2023 (but will add New York JFK-Toronto service Jan. 10). AA will also end Philadelphia-Akron flights next April and will not resume service between Chicago and San Jose, Costa Rica, in March as previously planned.

Hawaii’s interisland carrier Mokulele Airlines, which recently signed an interline pact with Hawaiian Airlines, now has another new partnership. Alaska Airlines, which flies from seven West Coast cities to Hawaii, said it will add Mokulele to its Mileage Plan early next year. At that time, Alaska’s Hawaii passengers will be able to book connecting flights on Mokulele via the Alaska Airlines website and will earn Mileage Plan miles for those interisland flights. Mokulele operates more than 800 flights a week. “With connecting service on Mokulele, our guests will enjoy quicker access to seven new locations and two islands not directly served by Alaska, such as Hilo, Lanai and Molokai. Mokulele is the only carrier in Hawaii with regularly scheduled service to Lanai and Molokai,” Alaska noted. 

A few weeks ago, Delta started offering free in-flight Wi-Fi on select aircraft to Medallion-level members of its SkyMiles program as part of a long-term plan to end internet charges for all domestic passengers. Now the airline has expanded its test of the free Wi-Fi to program all SkyMiles members. According to the One Mile at a Time blog, the offer still applies only on select flights. Members can log onto the Wi-Fi portal, and if the free service is available, they can connect to it with their SkyMiles account number. The free internet is likely to be offered on Delta aircraft equipped with Viasat satellite-based Wi-Fi, including 757-200s, 737-900ERs and A321s.

United Airlines customers can now enroll in the Clear program for expedited airport security screening access by using the airline’s mobile app. By signing up directly through the app, applicants won’t have to use one of Clear’s airport kiosks for the process (unless they want to join the company’s enhanced Clear Plus service). United has added a link to its app’s homepage to begin the sign-up process. Using biometric technology, Clear has special lanes at the security checkpoints in dozens of major U.S. airports that let members skip the lines and proceed directly to screening. (It does not include access to PreCheck lanes unless the member already belongs to that separate TSA program.) Membership in Clear costs $189 a year, although discounted memberships are available to elite-level members of United’s and Delta’s loyalty programs and through certain airline credit cards (including United and Delta) as well as select American Express cards. 

Although it won’t start handling passengers until Dec. 8, Newark Liberty International’s new Terminal A got its official ribbon-cutting ceremony this week with New Jersey’s governor and Port Authority officials in attendance. The $2.7 billion structure replaces a 40-year-old terminal that had become crowded and outmoded; it has 33 gates, 21 of which will be operational next month. Like most brand-new airport terminals, the Newark facility will benefit from generous public space, a lot of natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows and notable public art installations. Terminal A’s centralized check-in hall is expected to handle up to 14 million passengers annually, with separate check-in areas for United, American, JetBlue and Air Canada. (United’s Terminal C will still handle the bulk of its flight operations at EWR. Delta will start using the new Terminal A after the second phase of construction gives it another 12 gates.)

Self-check-in kiosks around the hall are all equipped for facial recognition, and JetBlue has a separate check-in area for Mint passengers and elite-level frequent flyers. The terminal has 30 TSA screening lanes, and post-security it splits into three concourses — North, South and East. The new terminal will also have airport lounges from United, American and Delta in the months to come, as well as an American Express Centurion Lounge. The Points Guy toured the new facility this week and gave it an effusive review. “Words alone may not capture how much of an improvement this new terminal is,” TPG said, saying that the facility is “stunning” enough “to change the airport’s reputation.”