In February 2022 it was announced that Frontier and Spirit would be merging. As the two lowest budget option airlines in the United States, this has some good and bad opportunities for plus-size travelers. Let’s break them down! Background On The Merge Both Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines provide flights to over 190 destinations both domestically within the United States and Internationally. The Airlines Spirit Airlines started in 1983 in Macomb County, MI. They have over 40 domestic destinations and 18 international destinations that they serve. Frontier Airlines started in 1994 in Denver, CO. They have over 100 domestic destinations and 30 international destinations that they serve. The Planes Both airlines utilize airbus style planes. While there are many complaints about the comfort of both Spirit and Frontier, there is a general understanding by passengers that you get what you pay for. To keep the cost of flights down, both airlines utilize minimal materials for their seats; for example, Frontier seats are pleather cover plastic chairs that reach the FAA safety standards but aren’t exactly comfortable for long haul flights across the country. Spirit Airlines probably receives the most hate because of their lack of legroom in the majority of the plane. However, we have found for plus-size travelers both airlines do offer benefits that some other top airlines do not. This includes wider seats and seatbelts, additionally, Spirit does offer a few rows with larger legroom, however, these seats are highly soot after by not only plus-size travelers but tall travelers as well. So it can make last-minute ticket purchasing a little more difficult. The Merge The merger between Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. With that, the company’s mission is to continue to provide ultra-low fares to consumers. However, until the merge is complete and legal, each Airline is acting as a separate entity. How does this affect plus-size travelers? Until the company’s merge is fully approved, continue to utilize the plus-size travel policies for each individual airline. Check out the Spirit Airline Policy for Plus-Size Travelers and Frontier Airline Policy for Plus-Size Travelers to learn more.

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