Budget carrier Frontier has rolled out a new program that allows passengers to tip flight attendants directly.
When paying by credit card using the airline’s mobile tablet system, passengers can now add a gratuity to their purchase. Tips are directed to the individual crew member who provided the service; previously, gratuities were pooled and shared among all attendants on a flight. The tablet prompts passengers to choose 15%, 20%, or 25%, or to enter a custom amount.
Asked whether these tips represent supplemental income or a necessary part of flight attendants’ earnings, a Frontier spokesperson told ThePointsGuy.com that it is both. “Many flight attendants see the in-flight tip program as a way to supplement their income,” the spokesperson said.
JT Genter of ThePointsGuy.com, who has flown more than 350 flights on 51 different airlines over the past three years, noted that he had never before encountered an airline asking for tips during a flight.