An Orlando woman is suing Frontier Airlines for $100,000,000 for allegedly using improperly-sized bag measuring devices to charge customers baggage fees for personal items that are appropriately sized.
According to a 21-page complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in June by attorneys representing Amira Hamad, Frontier is accused of lying about its stated position as a a “budget airline” with low airfares.
“Frontier is not a budget airline. Frontier does not have the lowest airfares. Frontier just breaks its fees into tiny little pieces and checkpoints to water down the appearance of what is actually an average airfare when combined and compared to the industry,” reads the beginning of the complaint.
Hamad accuses Frontier of “falsely” misleading her and “numerous other consumers” into believing that they are purchasing “low airfare,” when, in fact, the company “makes up whatever discount it purports to give consumers in fraudulent and unwarranted charges.”
The complaint goes on to accuse the airline of “bait-and-switch” tactics that are designed to “confuse, trick, and trap” its consumers.
Much of the complaint focuses on the acceptable size of personal items, which are supposed to be 14″ in height, 18″ in width, and 8″ in depth. The complaint accuses Frontier of using improperly sized measuring instruments at the gate that are “drastically smaller” than the acceptable dimensions.
According to Hamad, when items that would otherwise be accepted are deemed to be too big because of the faulty measuring instruments, customers are forced to pay “$100 at the departure gate.”
“Not only does Frontier not adequately explain the nature of its baggage fees at the time of ticket purchase, but Frontier also displays a grossly skewed bag sizer at the gate that is smaller than the allowed 14″H x 18″W x 8″D dimension for personal items,” reads the complaint.
The complaint provides photos showing Hamad trying to fit a personal item in the “bag sizer” in front of her Frontier gate unsuccessfully. Hamad says she took the same bag over to a Spirit Airlines bag sizer and it fit.
“Frontier’s baggage fee structure is misleading and designed to trick consumers into paying the maximum amount of fees at the airport,” reads the complaint.
In closing, the lawsuit asks that Frontier disclose its “fee structure clearly and conspicuously,” and post its personal item dimensions on “bag sizers at the gates of the airports in which it operates.” Additionally, the lawsuit asks that the plaintiffs be reimbursed for actual damages, and that Frontier pay statutory fines in the amount of $10,000.
The defendant is also asking Frontier to pay punitive damages in the amount of $100,000,000 for the “blatant, wanton, malicious, and intentional nature” of the airline’s “gross misconduct.”