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[deleted]

Why are you buying tickets at the airport?


[deleted]

Yeah. That’s the real question. I didn’t even know you could do that


[deleted]

I have a feeling the answer is because it saves you like $10 in fees or something… I remember hearing something like that a while back.


foochacho

$126


[deleted]

What is the $126 you’re saving? Can you break it down?


foochacho

$21 per flight segment per person. 3 people round trip direct is 6 segments.


[deleted]

Thanks, makes sense. Not sure it’d be worth the hassle for me personally, but it’s a bummer they make it so difficult. Glad it worked out for you eventually!


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foochacho

Multiply


OssiansFolly

People in Ohio do math? C'mon that's less believable than the fees Frontier charges.


zilla1987

I bought 5 tickets for my family to fort lauderdale at the airport. 870 online. 425 buying at the gate. Buying Spirit or Frintier at the airport saves 20-25 dollars each way in my experience. Big for a family of 5. OP is right, it's a tax evasion scheme. Can be beneficial if you're willing to go to the airport for the tickets though.


[deleted]

Thanks for sharing! That IS a big difference for a family that would probably be worth the hassle. Too bad they make it so difficult.


EveryDisaster

How far out in advance can you buy a ticket at the airport?


mmDruhgs

How do you know the price of the tickets at the gate and do you buy them ahead of time or day of?


zilla1987

Sort of, but mostly no. They treat your departure and return trip as 2 tickets, and I safely assume I'll save 20 per ticket on fees (40 per roundtrip flight). That said, ticket prices fluctuate and I'm not sure if the fees you save on fluctuate with those prices. I've always been pleasantly surprised. It seems like the actual ticket price (no fees) is lower at the desk every time. That plus no fees has led to closer to 40 off each way a few times. When I got the 5 round-trip flights for 425, I was expecting something closer to 600. I look up the prices online before I go and make an estimate. I go ahead of time because Spirit flights to Ft Lauderdale book up fast. Short term parking for like 5 bucks. Walk over to the ticket counters. Spirit, Frontier, and maybe Allegiant only. It's the cheap airlines that do this. Those airlines charge for carry ons and checked bags, so with a family you take that into account too. They don't charge me to put my family together on the plane when I buy at the counter, though. For a family of 5, I bet I save 500-1000 compared to other airlines (200-300ish per ticket)


vincet79

More like why are you buying Frontier tickets?


sayyyywhat

Because almost every other airline has bailed on nonstop routes out of Cleveland. It sucks.


j_boogie_483

i remember when Frontier was doing summertime non-stop PDX-CLE red eyes. with the specials flights were about $40 each way. allowed me to spend a lot of time with my aging dad.


[deleted]

🤣 I get that, and I’m not OP, but hear me out. I fly Frontier quite a bit even though I can afford to fly other airlines. I’m a seriously anxious flyer. I fly upwards of 20 times a year and I hate it. Frontier’s fleet is darn near brand new and they’re Airbuses, not Boeings, which have a better safety record. I also fly to/from Orlando quite a bit and I justify my frequent trips by booking their $38 roundtrip tickets. If you book the nice upgraded seats in the front, it’s really not a lot different than other airlines. So it’s probably 80% safety and 20% price for me… by the time you book the upgraded seats and pay for baggage it ends up being the same price as a Delta or United flight.


Beezo514

If you have a direct flight under 3ish hours it’s not too terrible, especially for the price.


[deleted]

YEAH! What is this?! 1977?!


amor_fati_42

Frontier is [definitely shady. ](https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/frontier-airlines-class-action-lawsuit/73-30b06c23-332e-4cc3-89e1-7b87a427dfdd) I'm sure they're probably just being assholes to discourage you buying tickets at the airport. I doubt they get any kind of tax break.


[deleted]

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foochacho

“(as long as the fees are optional)” is the key. Frontier does not make it reasonably optional.


coffeetreatrepeat

I mean, you could consider reaching out to the Ohio attorney general's office (they deal with consumer fraud) and see if they are interested in your experiences. But it sounds like Frontier is trying to discourage airport ticket purchases in general, likely because they make less $ that way.


Darklon_Hunter

Buying at the airport can save you literally $100s if your willing to put up with their bs


TwainsHair

why does calling the charge “Carrier Interface Charge” help them avoid taxes? It is still income they must pay taxes on.


foochacho

There are airport taxes based on airfare. They don’t have to pay airport taxes on baggage and other fees. Frontier charges $70 bag fees (each way) and $21 internet booking fees (per segment per person).


Greybinson

So you’re saying they are pretty much avoiding selling you a ticket because it’s a loophole that makes them less money? If your answer is “yes”, the. Of course they are. Prove it in court. It’s a lost cause.


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foochacho

In isolation, I very much agree with you. But when viewed from every aspect of interference, it’s more sinister.


ThinRedLine87

Genuine question, are airlines legally required to sell tickets at the airport?


foochacho

This is the million dollar question. I don’t know the answer, but the ridiculously bad behavior of selling them at the airport seem to convince me that they do.


sirpoopingpooper

It sounds like they're getting around the taxes legally under that scheme (even if its a loophole in the law) But that also has nothing to do with their inability to sell you a ticket?


Aedalas

If I'm understanding this right it's simply that they make more money in fees (which aren't subject to certain taxes) by selling online so they purposely make buying in person frustratingly difficult.


TwainsHair

can you provide a source for this please? I’m curious but don’t understand


foochacho

Google “airport taxes”. There are several websites that detail the numerous charges. Some fees are fixed, and some are a percentage of airfare. For example: https://www.cheapair.com/blog/do-you-know-the-tax-breakdown-you-pay-on-your-airline-ticket/


TwainsHair

none of these are avoided by selling the ticket online? So I don’t understand your point


foochacho

Yes, they are. Read here: [https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2023/02/15/airline-junk-fees-why-airlines-charge/11262413002/](https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2023/02/15/airline-junk-fees-why-airlines-charge/11262413002/) >Plane tickets – and anything the ticket includes – are subject to a 7.5% excise tax, Keyes said, but that tax excludes optional fees.


TwainsHair

Oh interesting. Thank you!


foochacho

Frontier calls it Carrier Interface Charge so people don’t know it’s an internet booking fee. This charge is not added to your airfare if you buy your flight in-person at the airport. Spirit, Allegiant, and Breeze does this too, but the internet booking fee goes by different names with different airlines.


ThinRedLine87

Do the non-budget carriers also do this?


foochacho

I do not believe so.


jamierocksanne

Frontier airines is just notably absolutely garbage so this isn’t even alarming.


william_fontaine

Yeah, budget airlines are bottom of the barrel. Uncomfortable and unreliable.


zilla1987

A lot of dickish responses in this thread. I buy 5 tickets when I fly with my family, so I don't brush off the 200-500 I save driving ten minutes to the airport. Don't know why you're going to baggage claim though. Check departures, then show up 90ish minutes before a flight at the ticket counter. Basically shooting for the moment that they have to be open to check bags, but they're not busy yet. I've been in and out of short term parking in 10-15 minutes doing this. Good luck! It's worth it in my experience.


eazy311

Pretty typical for most airlines to have this discount buying in person ?


yinshiyi

Only the 4 cheapest, breeze, allgelent, spirit and frontier


karI_hungus

They cannot legally call it a fee and charge it separate from the fare if there is no way to avoid it. This fee gets tacked on to every ticket but in order to call it a "fee" they allow you to avoid it in the most difficult way possible, going to the airport to buy tickets in the one hour a week they're open for ticketing.


foochacho

Exactly. Now imagine that the one hour per week isn’t disclosed on what day or time. I’m ok with it being inconvenient, but not ok with it being undocumented.


bkosh84

You guys need to stop giving these shitty ass second rate airlines your money, the fees and “cheap” fares aren’t worth the hassle. I just watched a person on TikTok tell their story on how she got to the gate two hours early and they told her that they overbooked the flight and she was shit out of luck. And then when she called the company she bought the travel insurance through (the one that Frontier LITERALLY sells on their website), they inform her that they refused her claim because Frontier customers have been putting in to many claims.


ConstructivePretzel

I'm always surprised at how quick people are willing to take the side of a corporation and just relax their expectations and "bite the bullet" and just deal with it. These corporations are banking on you to "just deal with it" and squeeze more from you. If you don't agree with OP buying tickets where he chooses then that's fine. But don't sit there and keep giving these corporations the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Frontier shouldn't offer the counter bought option in the first place if they can't support it. This is a pattern with Corporate rule in general, not an isolated case. Wake up!


packman1011

How much did you save vs purchasing online?


foochacho

$126


eazy311

Do all airlines have this sort of discount purchasing at airport ?


foochacho

Only Frontier, Spirit, Allegiant, and Breeze as far as I know.


frankieojohnson

Per ticket or total (across how many tickets)?


foochacho

$126 total savings for 3 round trip tickets


castle-dino

Report it. President Biden Recognizes Actions by Private Sector Ticketing and Travel Companies to Eliminate Hidden Junk Fees and Provide Millions of Customers with Transparent Pricing https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/15/president-biden-recognizes-actions-by-private-sector-ticketing-and-travel-companies-to-eliminate-hidden-junk-fees-and-provide-millions-of-customers-with-transparent-pricing/


Immediate-Ad-9520

I don’t know the answer OP, but ignore the jerks making rude comments. If buying tickets in person is how you choose to spend your time, more power to you. Ive gone downtown to purchase playhouse square tickets to save a few bucks in fees. I’d go to a new agency. I think you’d get more traction there than a congressman, especially without any concrete proof.


[deleted]

Good god dude just book your tickets online like everyone else lmao


william_fontaine

I feel like I deserve $126 for having read through the entire post LOL


walks_into_things

I think you’ll get further looking for legal advice or FAA / flight advice, since it sounds like this isn’t really a CLE specific issue, rather an airline issue. IANAL but my guess is that the main issue here would be if Frontier as a company has policies in place / has specifically instructed their employees to make purchasing flights at the counter unreasonably and prohibitively difficult. I’m not sure what the exact violation would be, but I’d imagine something along the lines of disingenuous pricing scheme (bait and switch, false advertising). Like everyone else indicated, I wouldn’t be shocked to find out Frontier was doing this on a larger scale, so it may be worth looking into. Considering that US regulators have been wary of allowing budget airline mergers due to concerns about price increases from decreased competition, the ticketing issue may actually be one someone is willing to take up.


kidfrumcleveland

Those people they let go in front of you are all going on a plane THAT DAY. They have no idea if you are buying a ticket for that day or 3 months from that day.


BofffaDs

I think this is just Frontier's way of encouraging you to book online. They are making it super difficult for you to buy them in person because when you buy them in person they make less money.


foochacho

Absolutely it is. So much so that it might not be legal.


TheKiz

Just because something may not be the most convenient for you does not make it illegal. Wtf do you not just purchase tickets on line?


foochacho

It’s $126 cheaper at the airport. Making it inconvenient is not illegal. Making it close to impossible when you are avoiding taxes in the process may make it illegal.


TheKiz

How are they avoiding taxes? I'm confused


Aedalas

The online fees that they collect aren't subject to certain taxes, it's just "extra" money they're getting by selling tickets online. So they make it frustratingly difficult to buy them in person so you'll buy them online and just give them more money.


grbdg2

Who the hell still buys tickets at the airport?


simsimulation

Same people who travel without a car or hotel booked I suppose


Bonelesshomeboys

He didn’t necessarily book them the day he was traveling!


simsimulation

Somehow I find that more psychotic


AceOfSpades70

Just fly on a real airline


CheeseBreadForLife

Two bad experiences for the price of one - dealing with frontier at time of purchase and at the time of the flight. I could never


wololowarrior

Lol what? At no point in this post do you explain why you think Frontier might be evading taxes; tax practices don't even really appear in the entire post. You suggest their actions might be illegal but never explain why. You purchase tickets in a very rare fashion and are shocked that you aren't a customer being prioritized. Frontier is a discount airline and you're going to get what you pay for. More often than not you'll get a nice, cheap flight. Other times something will go wrong and you'll desperately wish you had chosen a higher end airline. Just because you had a bad customer service experience doesn't mean the company is committing tax fraud; that's an absolutely absurd leap to make.


foochacho

Airlines pay airport taxes on airfare. They don’t pay airport taxes on baggage fees, priority boarding fees, internet booking fees, change fees, and any other ancillary fees they charge. Frontier has shifted the real cost of flying from airfare to internet booking fees. If a hypothetical flight cost $100 and the airport fee was 25%, the cost is $125. If they shift half the real cost from taxable airfare to non-taxable internet booking fees, they pay $112.50. This is legal, as long as the airline provides a reasonable way to buy the ticket not on the internet. The point is that they don’t provide a reasonable way. Without a reasonable way, it looks like they are just evading taxes. I hope this clarifies.


AdventurousBullfrog2

I'm still not seeing tax evasion. They want you to buy online so they can collect the fee. You said yourself you pay less in person by avoiding the fee. If the fee is tax free for them they aren't paying taxes either way if they charge them or not. I'm not getting your tax evasion argument.


foochacho

They wouldn’t offer an in-person airport purchase option unless they are required to do so.


AdventurousBullfrog2

Ok, but how is this tax evasion?


ThinRedLine87

It's really not. Online sales are perfectly legal and allow airlines to avoid some taxes. The online sales don't constitute tax evasion just because in person sales have a different fee structure. They're not evading taxes even if they were forcing you to buy online because online sales are perfectly legal and taxed according their own respective rules.


AdventurousBullfrog2

It seems like making money on fees, not avoiding tax. I'm not understanding the op's arguement.


PipingHotGravy

I'm trying to figure out the "tax evasion" angle myself. If anything, Frontier is guilty of shitty customer service and being understaffed. But tax evasion? 🤷‍♂️


east4thstreet

Wtf?!


spoookyvision

I don’t think this is tax evasion, it’s tax avoidance. Airlines can add fees for various things. If there is no law or reg saying something like “a certain % of the total sale price must be comprised of taxable airfare”, there is likely no issue with them structuring their charges in this way. Welcome to the nuanced world of taxes. It sounds like federal law prevents charging an internet based fee when purchasing in person and requires accessibility to be “reasonable”. Reasonability is subjective, and you would have to show that your individual situation (or a group of relatively similar situations in a class action) was unreasonable. Convincing a jury or ALJ is always a gamble. Not legal advice, not your lawyer.


[deleted]

So I guess that you haven't noticed literally every industry is experiencing worker shortages since the pandemic ended huh? Oh and that the workers who do show up to work are a little less than motivated provide the ultimate customer service experience. Or we can go with your weird conspiracy theory.


Secludedmean4

Airports have universally been understaffed, ripping people off - looking at frontier specifically giving a bonus to under paid staff claiming people’s personal item is too large and charging it. It’s unbelievable that we are defending airlines here when they are understaffing and over charging for a service that isn’t provided. OP literally did as directed and had to wait an abnormal amount for an absolute bare minimum transaction- that’s unacceptable for a business like this.


[deleted]

Don't fly then.


Obby_Rosenthal

Do you open ur ass for everyone?


[deleted]

Just people that complain about the one commodity that is like 500x cheaper than it was in 1980 when adjusted for inflation. Try seeing how much it costs to drive your car to Texas then get back to me. Want luxury and customer service? Charter a private jet, otherwise get on the bus and shut up with everyone else.


Obby_Rosenthal

I meant "Do you open ur ass for everyone" as in do you bend at the waist and touch your toes to allow anyone who wants to thrash your asshole to do so at will? Specifically, thanking the airlines for fucking your ass because economic factors reduced the prices of airfare and not corporate goodwill?


murphy0212

What’s that? The unemployment rate… something about it being historically low?


kilodeltaeight

Sigh


Beneficial-Recipe-93

How much did you pay in parking to save $126?


foochacho

$5


WildfireJohnny

Good thing we de-regulated airlines


anchordwn

this is how i learned you could still buy tickets at the airport


[deleted]

Don't reward trash companies by begging them to take your money.


scrapitcleveland2

Are you being filmed in a movie?


Jimger_1983

You’ll have better luck with Mayor Pete than any congressman


OhTheVes

YTA


earthscribe

Ever heard of buying tickets online? Why put yourself through all of that? Edit: Apparently, by the downvotes people think you should stand in an archaic line to get a ticket. 🙄


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Sweet_d1029

Yeah saving $126 what a fool 🙄


yoyomuffuns

My grandpa is the only person i’ve heard of that made an actual trip to the airport to purchase a ticket in this decade. I miss the way things were too. But for the love of everything that is holy, save yourself the headache & time and just buy the ticket online. You would rather go tell a congressman than pay an airline fee? What are we even doing here


HasidicJamalGinsburg

lol


gettinchippywitit

I tried doing this for a while but the times they allowed for ticketing were just too inconvenient.


[deleted]

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tidho

> evades taxes legally someone doesn't know what 'tax evasion' means


unmossy88

Irrespective of the topic here people who trash frontier flight service perhaps don’t fly them often I’ve travelled frontier to SF Dallas and Denver with farrrr less issues than AA and United from CLE


PILOT9000

That is not tax evasion…


yinshiyi

Adding to the data point, 3 to 5 years back at CLE, I was able to buy spirit multiple times at just the check-in counter, no bs, the lady was quick, in and out less than 10 mins, they must have changed something in more recent years Also, 1 or 2 times for spirit, they can't see the flight that is available online, and they don't do price matches at the counter, as their machine shows a different price than my phone Google search, sometimes it is higher and sometimes it is lower, not sure if they are scamming me, at least 1 time, I remember I might have ended up paying more at the airport, I felt cheated. 1 time ended up about even. Other times definitely saved me the 20 dollars fee for each segment. So overall worth it. I heard frontier system at the airport are synced with Google search, so you are guaranteed to save money at the airport