Frontier Airlines is making a pitch to steal Southwest Airlines customers by asking them to “divorce your old airline” with a promotion for free bags and low ticket prices.
In the latest volley in a brewing battle between low-cost air carriers with prominent Las Vegas operations, Frontier on Tuesday announced it would offer a free checked bag on some flights through Aug. 18.
Denver-based Frontier is taking advantage of Southwest’s announcement last week that it would discontinue its “bags fly free” strategy that has been in place for 50 years.
“Some airlines have changed,” Frontier said in a release. “They’ve raised fees, taken away perks and made travel feel like a one-sided relationship. If your airline is treating you like an afterthought, maybe it’s time to file for divorce. Frontier is here for the rebound — offering a fresh start with an unbeatable deal.”
But the Frontier deal doesn’t last long, and there’s no assurance that it would be permanent.
“We’ve always had heart,” said Frontier CEO Barry Biffle, in another reference to Southwest, which uses red, yellow and blue hearts in its marketing materials, has a stock exchange ticker symbol of LUV and is based at Dallas’ Love Field. “Some airlines are walking away from what travelers love, but we’re running towards it. Think of this as the ultimate ‘divorce your old airline’ deal. If travelers show us the love, we’ll make these perks permanent.”
The airline didn’t disclose how many customers it would take to make any policy changes permanent.
Frontier’s release said, “If travelers show us they love this deal, we might just make it permanent. The more people who jump on board, the better the chances of making this the new normal.”
Frontier’s free bag promotion runs through Aug. 18 for customers who use the promotional code FREEBAG. To take advantage of the deal, passengers must book tickets by Monday. For all bookings through Aug. 18, customers can get Frontier’s Economy Bundle for free. That offers a free carry-on bag, free seat selection and free flight changes.
Frontier’s free bag promotional flights must be purchased by 8:59 p.m. PDT Monday and are only good on nonstop travel flights Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays through Aug. 18. Tickets must be purchased at least 21 days in advance of the flight, and no flights are eligible on blackout dates of May 27, July 2 and 5. Not all markets are available for all dates of travel.
Southwest countered with its own dig at Frontier later Tuesday.
“You don’t need a promo code to avoid change fees, cancellation fees, view in-flight entertainment or bring along two carry-on items on Southwest,” a company spokesman said in an emailed statement.
“We look forward to serving the new customers attracted to fare above all else, as well as rewarding our most-loyal customers in our unmatched network connecting more than 850 nonstop city pairs at 117 airports across the United States and 10 international countries.”
Southwest is by far the busiest commercial air carrier at Harry Reid International Airport, carrying 21.7 million passengers in 2024 — 37 percent of the airport’s for the year. It offers an average of 1,613 weekly flights to 71 nonstop destinations. Its most popular Las Vegas route is to and from Phoenix.
Frontier was the sixth-busiest carrier at the airport last year, flying 4 million passengers, or 6.8 percent of the airport’s total, with 236 weekly nonstop flights to 27 destinations. Its most popular Las Vegas route is to and from Denver.
Both carriers have fleets of modern twin-engine jets.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
