Begun the bag wars have.
The Baggage Wars rage on! Frontier strikes back at Southwest with ‘free’ carry-ons for a limited time only. It’s an emotionally manipulative strategic maneuver in the wake of Southwest’s dynamic model. Will this restore hope for the airline industry, or is it just another ploy in the struggle for passenger loyalty?
Frontier Airlines’ email, titled “This is TRUE LOVE,” targets travelers feeling “jilted” by “other” airlines due to rising fees and reduced perks. It positions Frontier as the understanding “rebound” airline, offering a limited-time “Economy Bundle for FREE.” This includes a free carry-on bag, seat selection, and flight changes for nonstop travel until August 18th. They also offer a free checked bag with a promo code for flights during a portion of that period.
The email’s emotional language, like “traveler-airline love story,” is a marketing tactic designed to create a sense of personal connection towards a real life continuing event that you may have been outraged by, like the Southwest baggage fees story I highlighted yesterday. However, the “free” offer comes with caveats: it’s time-limited, applies only to nonstop flights, and the free checked bag is further restricted.
The most telling detail is the phrase, “If travelers show us they love this deal, we might just make it permanent.” This reveals a thinly veiled data-gathering exercise. Frontier aims to monitor customer response to these perks, likely to refine their dynamic pricing strategies. The “love story” is a facade, masking a data-driven approach to optimize revenue.
Frontier Airlines has not disclosed the specific mechanisms it will employ to assess customer response of its new promotional bundle. It is plausible that this initiative is primarily designed to gather real-time data on customer behavior, paving the way for enhanced dynamic pricing capabilities.
Ultimately, Frontier is leveraging emotional appeals and temporary offers to attract customers and gather valuable data. While the promotion might offer short-term benefits, it lacks the long-term commitment and transparency needed to build genuine customer loyalty.