One of America’s quintessential budget airlines is wading into new, premium territory with first class-style seats set for takeoff next year.
Frontier Airlines will add “luxurious, spacious seats” in the first two rows of its jets beginning in late 2025, the carrier announced Tuesday.
It’s also trying to ratchet up the allure of its frequent flyer program with a no-strings-attached companion pass for high-level elite status members — and by wooing travelers who already carry a credit card with another U.S. airline.
The series of changes outlined Tuesday represents a notable departure from Frontier’s historic, no-frills approach — and a clear ploy to attract passengers currently frequenting its larger, full-service airline competitors.
“We’ve just observed what’s happening in the industry and the truth is, we’re a leisure carrier, and the affluent leisure customer would like to have a better product,” CEO Barry Biffle said in an interview with TPG. “What we’re seeing now is people are willing to pay for that experience and there’s a lot of customers that won’t fly without it.”
Value check: Are airline credit cards worth it anymore?
Here’s what to know about each of the changes outlined by Frontier:
Frontier’s new first class-style seats
Frontier’s new “first class-style” seats will begin appearing on its jets by late 2025, the Denver-based carrier said Tuesday.
The seats will occupy the first two rows of its airplanes — and they’ll ultimately be available across every jet on the fleet, Biffle confirmed.
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Renderings released by the airline show bona fide domestic first class-esque recliners with Frontier branding on the seat cushions.
Frontier hopes to begin retrofitting its jets with the new seats in September 2025 — after the peak summer travel season — Biffle confirmed, and the carrier believes it can equip all its planes with the new seats within roughly two months.
A key question sure to be on travelers’ minds: how will Frontier’s “soft product” — think service, food and beverage and other amenities that come with a ticket — measure up to the domestic first-class experience on a larger, network airline? After all, a ticket on Frontier (or its budget competitors) hasn’t historically included much beyond a spot on the plane.
“We haven’t made any decisions on that,” Biffle said. “We are just focused on the seat itself.”
Upgrades for elites
Still, more comfortable seats should prove to be added incentive for travelers considering pursuing elite status in the Frontier Miles loyalty program.
The program has four tiers — Elite Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond.
Once the new first-class seats are installed, members who reach Gold status (and higher) will be eligible for unlimited complimentary upgrades to the cabin, Frontier said — space dependent, of course.
A step beyond UpFront Plus
Frontier won’t be the first U.S. ultra-low-cost airline to add first class-style seat.
For one, Spirit Airlines, currently restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has for years offered travelers spacious accommodations with its Big Front Seat.
That said, Frontier’s new first-class seats will be a clear step beyond the UpFront Plus product it rolled out earlier in 2024, which features a guaranteed empty middle seat.
Today, Frontier sells around 80% of seats it designates as UpFront Plus, Biffle told TPG. That success, he said, was proof enough for the carrier that a more premium product could be successful.
Frontier Airlines’ “UpFront Plus” product featuring a blocked middle seat. SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY
The airline will continue offering UpFront Plus in the future, immediately behind its first-class seats, Biffle noted.
A premium trend in the low-cost industry
Frontier isn’t alone in pivoting its product offerings of late.
Airlines across the U.S. low-cost and ultra-low-cost industry have scrambled, in recent months, to add more premium offerings at a time when travelers have shown a willingness to pay extra for more space and extra perks.
That trend has helped propel airlines like Delta Air Lines and United Airlines to the highest profits in the industry in recent years, while budget carriers — Frontier among them — have faced financial headwinds.
Recent months have seen Southwest Airlines announce a shift to assigned and extra-legroom seats, and JetBlue unveil plans for its first-ever lounges.
Frontier, Biffle said, has been studying potential first-class seating options for nearly two years.
Why the change now?
“We just believe that in today’s marketplace, given the propensity for people to pay for that premium experience, we think the opportunity is there,” he said. “Whereas I think if you go back in time, five, ten, twenty years ago, it really wasn’t.”
Frontier gets a companion pass
Competing for the most significant news announced Tuesday by Frontier, the carrier next year will begin offering its own version of a companion pass to high-level elite status members.
SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY
Starting in mid-2025, Frontier Miles members who reach Elite Platinum or Diamond status – the carrier’s top two status tiers – will be able to bring a companion on board any flight for free.
The perk is likely to instantly become the most valuable benefit of high-level elite status with the airline.
Is there a catch?
Of course, at a carrier long known for add-on fees and stringent restrictions on many tickets, there’s sure to be skepticism about what terms, conditions and red tape Frontier’s companion program might contain.
Yet, Biffle insists the companion pass will be quite simple: if there’s a seat available on the flight, eligible passholders will be able to book a companion at no cost, aside from the standard, nominal taxes and fees like you’d pay on any award ticket.
Ultimately, we’ll be eager to see how it measures up to the industry’s best-known “buy-one, get-one” setup offered as part of the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass.
To that end, Biffle notes Frontier’s version will lack one restriction employed by Southwest’s: having to designate a single person as the dedicated, go-to “companion.”
“You want to take your mom on this trip? You want to take your daughter on the next trip? You want to take your best friend on the next trip? No problem,” he said. “It’s unlimited, any flights, anything you book, you take somebody with you, no questions asked.”
Qualifying for the Frontier companion pass
Once live, Frontier’s companion offering — combined with the opportunity for true upgrades — should prove to be far more enticing draws of Frontier Miles elite status.
Elite Platinum status, the benchmark you’ll need for a companion travel perk, requires 50,000 elite status points.
Travelers just starting out with Frontier Miles earn 10 status points per dollar spent with the airline. Cardholders with the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard® can also earn 1 elite status point for every $1 spent on purchases.
The information for the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Shortcut offered
However, Frontier is offering a shortcut the to Platinum — and by extension the companion pass — over the next few months.
Frontier Miles members who earn 20,000 elite status points between now and April 30, 2025 can qualify for 2025 Platinum status, the carrier said Tuesday.
Frontier has not yet announced an exact start date in mid-2025 for when its companion pass program will go live.
Aiming to entice airline credit cardholders
Meanwhile, on the credit card front, Frontier is taking direct aim at its domestic competitors, hoping its latest changes can inspire some travelers to shift their loyalty.
The carrier on Tuesday announced a deal-sweetener for frequent flyers who carry a credit card with a competing airline.
Between now and Jan. 31, 2025, current cardholders with other eligible domestic airlines can qualify for a welcome bonus that’s double the currently-advertised amount.
If you have another airline’s card, you may be eligible to earn up to 100,000 miles with Frontier after confirming eligibility, applying, getting approved and making qualifying purchases with the Frontier Mastercard.
This enhanced welcome offer includes: 50,000 miles after paying the annual fee in full and spending $500 on qualifying purchases in the first 90 days of account opening. That’s the same number of miles offered under the current, widely-available welcome offer for the card.
However, eligible cardholders approved for this offer could then receive an additional 50,000 miles after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 180 days of account opening.
The card carries a $99 annual fee.
TPG values 100,000 Frontier miles at roughly $1,100.
Redeem miles for bundles
In a less headline-worthy — but still impactful — change, Frontier is also freeing up its frequent flyer miles for redemptions on “add-on” items — a central part, of course, of the budget airline experience.
Starting in mid-2025, Frontier Miles members will be able to redeem miles for ancillary items like baggage, upgrades, seats — among other things.
The carrier hasn’t released redemption requirements for these add-ons, but has said it will deploy “transparent pricing” across its four existing bundles: basic, economy, premium and business.
As a reminder, Frontier revamped its bundles earlier in 2025. Today, travelers searching flights on the airline’s website select their bundle upfront, opting for a stripped-down, classic budget airline fare (its “basic” bundle) or increasingly “bundled” fares that fold in extras like seats, bags and the like, as you climb the ladder.
Bottom line
Frontier’s changes unveiled Tuesday represent a major shift in how the airline has done business for many years.
Long known for offering a no-frills, budget-centric experience, the carrier is hoping travelers — both its current customers and those loyal to other airlines — will be willing to pay up for first class-style seats (if not a true, all-around first-class experience).
The airline is also hoping those travelers will increasingly be willing, in the process, to focus more attention on its loyalty program – and pick up its credit card.
That includes loyalists of carriers that, in some cases, have more robust, global route networks and, in many cities, more destinations and frequencies.
Will travelers buy in?
Time will tell.
Certainly, Frontier faces an increasingly crowded field of airlines betting big on leisure travelers’ willingness to pay more for increased comfort and stepped-up services.
Meanwhile, executives at some of the nation’s largest airlines — most vociferously United CEO Scott Kirby — have, in recent months, cast doubt on the U.S. ultra-low-cost airline industry’s viability.
Biffle, for his part, is bullish on the changes.
“I think you’re going to find, when you stack up the math, dollar for dollar spent on our credit card, and dollars spent on airline for airline,” Biffle countered, “you’re going to earn more value [with] Frontier than with anyone else, hands down.”
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