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Frontier Airlines to Launch $399 Unlimited Summer Travel Pass; Lawmakers Want Penalty for Airline Disruptions
Edited by: TJVNews.com
If the travel bug has hit some Americans, then good news is in store for future travel plans. According to a report on Fox Business, Frontier Airlines is launching a new all-you-can-fly summer pass allowing travelers unlimited flights over the summer months for an introductory price of $399.
The new low fare marketing tool to attract more travelers comes as Frontier is expanding its service which includes eight new routes to Puerto Rico. The name of the new Frontier travel deal is called GoWild! Summer Pass, Fox Business reported.
Those who purchase the pass will be allowed to book domestic flights the day before and international flights starting 10 days before between May 2nd and Sept. 30th, Fox reported. “Everyone loves summer vacation and, with the new GoWild! Summer Pass, you can enjoy even more of what you love,” Daniel Shurz, senior vice president of commercial for Frontier Airlines, said in a statement, Fox Business reported.
“For people with flexible schedules, this is a terrific opportunity to have a truly epic summer and then some, soaking up rays on the beach, exploring national parks and visiting new cities,” he added, according to the Fox Business report. “When you book, you can also purchase options like bags, seats, and other ancillary products, for each flight to customize your travel,” the company also said.
The $399 passes are being sold on a “first come, first served” basis, it added.
In other travel related news, Fox reported that lawmakers want to impose stricter penalties on U.S. airlines that delay or strand passengers. The latest move comes following outrage over debacles like the one at Southwest Airlines in December.
The “passenger bill of rights” was presented by Democrats Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Edward Markey of Massachusetts.
Among other things, it will allow customers to file class-action lawsuits against airlines and legislation to limit airline fees.
Fox Business reported that a trade group for the largest U.S. airlines isn’t happy about it, issuing a blistering attack on the legislation.
A spokeswoman for trade group Airlines for America said the industry is a highly competitive one that benefits consumers.
In the middle of January, the Jewish Voice reported that Richard Blumenthal held a news conference on during which he referenced the several-day meltdown that left thousands of Southwest Airlines passengers stranded, WFSB.com reported.
As such, Blumenthal proposed an “airline passenger bill of rights.” The goal would be to ensure airlines provide passengers with fair compensation, refunds, and recourse in the event of airline-caused flight delays, and cancellations, according to the television news report.
It would also require airlines to pay at least $1,350 to passengers denied boarding because of an oversold flight plus, immediate refunds for lost or damaged baggage.
Blumenthal says the bill is necessary because of the airline industry’s continuing poor performance over the years, WFSB.com reported. He says it is time taxpayers are given what they are owed.
“It is an industry that is rife with monopolistic and predatory practices, and the reason they can do it is because they dominate and the balance of power has shifted in favor of the airlines with fewer of fewer of them controlling more of the routes putting passengers more at their mercy,” Blumenthal said, according to the WFSB.com report.
The Connecticut Senator added that, “The kind of disaster that we saw with Southwest simply dramatizes an ongoing failure by the airlines to respect basic passenger rights,” as was reported by CBSNews.com.
“The airlines are giving travelers some of the worst performance in recent history and they are charging more for it than ever,” he said, as was reported by the Hartford Courant in January.
The bill, if passed, would essentially ensure airlines give refunds and compensation for extra costs caused by delayed or canceled flights and lost luggage.
“Rental cars, hotel, meals, no questions asked, money back,” Blumenthal said.
The Hartford Courant also reported that the Southwest issue hit Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, where on one day last week all of the cancellations there were Southwest flights, including 11 departures and nine arrivals.
The bill has been referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Hartford Courant reported. Blumenthal said he hoped to bring it before the Senate early in the next legislative session, which convened on Tuesday for a pro forma session. The Hartford Courant also reported that Blumenthal said he hopes lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will support the passengers’ rights he’s proposed.
“There’s nothing Republican or Democrat about a canceled flight and a stranded passenger sleeping overnight on the floor of an airport,” Blumenthal said in January as was reported by The Hartford Courant. “It happened in blue states, it happened in red states. Passengers didn’t care about party when they were sleeping on floors in airports or deprived of the opportunity to visit their loved ones.”
Blumenthal said he spoke with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg at length in January and that the secretary pledged to hold Southwest accountable for full refunds and compensation to passengers, according to the report in the Hartford Courant.
“I think the whole airline industry is due for a radical makeover,” said Blumenthal, as was reported in The Hartford Courant.
CBSNews.com also reported in January that Bill McGee, the senior fellow for aviation at the American Economic Liberties Project said that Americans have fewer rights dealing with an airline than with virtually any other company.
