If you’re traveling on a U.S. ultra-low-cost carrier, your suitcase may need to lose some weight, about 20% of its weight, in fact, as Frontier Airlines matches Spirit and Allegiant in lowering the weight limit for checked bags.
With the new change, there’s a good chance your luggage may cost more than your fare, since it adds charges of up to $100 on top of your checked baggage charge.
Passengers on those airlines are already paying to check bags at all, as on most legacy carriers, but up to now, charges for overweight luggage have started when the suitcase creeps past the 50-pound mark. The change on Frontier takes place March 1 for tickets purchased after January 18.
And, the overweight charges are not small. Bags weighing over 40 pounds but less than 50 will cost an extra $50 on top of the per-bag charge for checking one in at all. On Frontier, that’s $34 at booking, but rises as high as $55 to $60 at the airport. The overweight charge for bags weighing more than 50 pounds will be $100.
