If you subscribe to my newsletter then you know my number one travel tip is to be genuinely nice to everyone but especially gate agents and flight attendants since they can make or break your trip. If you’re kind to them they’re usually kind back, though I’ve come across a few doozies where they were just miserable and wanted to make sure you’re miserable too.
I think this might be one of those cases. A 45-year-old father of three who didn’t want to be identified was flying home from Raleigh-Durham to Boston after a business trip. He tried checking in at the airport kiosk but it wouldn’t let him because he arrived about 50 minutes before departure which was too late for the airline’s 60-minute pre-flight check-in cutoff.
When he went to the counter and the agent told him there would be a $25 agent-assist check-in fee he got irked and started filming to show how ridiculous Frontier’s policy is. This obviously ticked off the agent who then refused to check him in and whipped out her phone and started to film and taunt him after he says: “I paid for a ticket.”
Frontier Airlines worker refuses to let a man check into his flight, taunts him as he tries rushing so he doesn’t miss his flight.
Man: “I paid for a ticket.”
Worker: “You didn’t pay $25 for an agent assist fee. Hello? And you thought you was gonna get on your flight. And you… pic.twitter.com/A6m3rb1KsO
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 7, 2025
Agent: “You didn’t pay $25 for an agent assist fee. Hello? And you thought you was gonna get on your flight. And you thought you was gonna get on your flight. And you thought you was gonna get on your flight. And you thought you was gonna get on your flight. And you thought you was gonna get on your flight. And you thought you was gonna get on your flight. And you thought you was gonna get on your flight.”
And the agent next to her is filming as well. I’ve seen some crazy behavior in airports but this might take the cake by the gate agents.
I’m not sure what exactly was said before all parties started recording but I can tell you by the actions of Frontier Airlines employees is despicable and others agree.
@1991Wolfpack: Pretty unprofessional on the part of the ticket counter folks. Just let the buy pay the $25 and rush to make his flight. If he doesn’t then that’s on him. No need to be rude and condescending.
@Rico_Algeni: If Frontier doesn’t fire these people, everyone needs to stop flying on Frontier.
@moment_mirthful: I would NEVER fly Frontier after seeing this video of these two women giving this customer such a difficult time! I hope whoever he is sees this and files a Civil Rights Violation! This is SO wrong!
According to the New York Post, the cops came and the man said, “I had a very, very professional conversation with two officers who were there and were completely empathetic. They 100% seemed to agree with where I was coming from. I asked them, off the record, essentially, am I being ridiculous here? And they both with serious expressions, sympathetic expressions, shook their heads, ‘No, we see these sorts of disagreements with this airline frequently, and this is probably not going to be the last one.’”
The passenger ended up buying a new ticket on JetBlue for $500 and Frontier later reimbursed him for his ticket. Frontier also said “The individuals in question, who work for a third-party contractor, are no longer associated with the Frontier account.”
I’ve never flown Frontier and I don’t plan too because I’ve read too many of these infuriating stories involving their agents including multiple times how their agents deny people boarding unless they pay $100 to use the overhead bin when their bags obviously fit in the sizer. It’s because Frontier gives them a commission which is just wrong.
Although Frontier and the agents were despicable in their behavior, the passenger made some serious mistakes such as showing up late, not knowing Frontier’s rules, aggressively filming the agents (next time use Meta sunglasses so it’s on the sly) and let’s face it … booking a ticket on Frontier Airlines.
