Airline $100 Carry-On: Why Is The Frontier Airlines Fee So Much For Some Passengers?

Frontier Airlines will charge $100 per carry-on item beginning this summer. The Denver-based airline is just the latest flier to raise its fees and make air travel even more expensive. The new $100 fee does not yet have an official date for going into effect.

However, Frontier passengers can reportedly avoid the $100 carry-on fee by booking their flight and baggage through the airline's website. As technology becomes more and more prevalent throughout numerous sectors of the economy, it has made it easier for companies such as airlines to do business. Less paperwork and labor in the form of human ticket agents, and other analog functions mean airlines can cut costs.

Frontier spokeswoman Kate O'Malley insinuated that the fee was aimed to goad customers into seeking less labor-intensive means of booking on the airline's part. If a passenger books online, they do not likely require paper tickets to be printed at the Frontier airline terminal and do not need to interact with a ticket agent, saving the airline costs. She also noted that because of baggage fees becoming the norm across the board, passengers have overstuffed their single carry-on bag and often jam them in the overhead bins, leaving little or no space for fellow passengers; all to save a good chunk of cash. "[The $100 carry-on fee] is about Frontier's most loyal customers making it very clear that finding overhead bin space has become increasingly difficult," O'Malley said.

Frontier airlines' $100 carry-on fee joins the likes of the infamous Irish airline RyanAir, which, in addition to similar fees, has been toying with the idea to charge overweight passengers a fee and reportedly has decided to remove some of the onboard restrooms to accommodate more passengers. Many airlines, including Frontier and Ryan have begun charging for formerly complimentary food and beverage services. Long gone are the days of looking forward to that packet of Eagle Peanuts.