A new Frontier Airlines fare product enables flyers to guarantee an empty middle seat next to their own window or aisle seat in the first two rows of the aircraft.
Those rows already offer more legroom than Frontier's standard 28 inches between rows.
The UpFront Plus product is now on sale for flights beginning April 10. Through March 20, flyers can purchase UpFront Plus upgrades starting at $49 for flights between April 10 and April 30.
Speaking at the J.P. Morgan Industrial Conference on Tuesday, Frontier CEO Barry Biffle noted that Frontier briefly introduced a similar product early in the Covid pandemic, but pulled it back amid a backlash from politicians and consumers who viewed the product as an effort to profit from a public health measure. Enough time has lapsed to reintroduce the concept, Biffle said.
The UpFront Plus rollout comes just over a month after Frontier introduced its GDS-only BizFare bundle. Both moves coincide with Frontier's network adjustment away from oversaturated vacation-focused routes and toward routes that are often flown for business.