Frontier Airlines is still arguing about the facts of an incident that went viral on social media when a customer accused the airline of falsely charging her $100 for an oversize bag—but it did admit it pays its staff a bonus for each bag they collect on.
The customer was headed for a flight from Washington DC to Denver, when the airline agent told her that her bag was oversize, even though it fit in the bag sizer because, he said, she had pushed it in. A second Frontier agent backed him up.
After posting the video of the incident, the passenger said, a Frontier employee contacted her and told her that the airline pays $10 for each bag they collect a fee for. The Independent (UK) followed the story and was told that the bonus is “simply an incentive for our airport customer service agents to help ensure compliance with our policies and that all customers are treated equally.”
Then the airline muddied the waters: Even though the posted video shows a dispute over the bag in the sizer, Frontier claims she had a second bag that did not fit into the sizer, although there is no evidence of that in the video.
Regardless: it is clear that paying a bounty for ‘oversize’ baggage is an invitation to abuse or at least unhappiness.
