Flyers, the airlines have finally slapped a price tag on the overhead bin: that is if you’re one of the more than 8 million passengers who fly Frontier Airlines each year.

Frontier revealed a new fee structure Monday that will mean many flyers have to pay more for a number of perks and services, including up to $50 for placing a bag in the overhead bin. For economy-class tickets purchased on or after April 28, passengers who book online will have to pay either $20 (for frequent flyers) or $25 (for everyone else) to use that overhead bin, $35 if they buy during check-in at the airport (even if it’s at the self-service kiosk) and a whopping $50 if they wait to check-in after they get to the gate. (Already, flyers who booked on travel booking sites like Orbitz and Expedia had to pay for carry-on bags in the overhead bin.) Flyers will also need to pay between $15 and $75 for checked bags.

“ Other airlines will be watching...and may institute fees like this in the future. ” — George Hobica, the founder of AirfareWatchdog.com

That fee joins a host of others that Frontier is unleashing, including: $3 for reserving a seat in advance if you do it while booking online and $8 if you check-in at the airport; $5 to $15 more to get a seat in the front half of the plane; and $15 to $50 for more legroom or the exit row (passengers on connecting flights must pay twice).

It’s a move, the company says, that is designed to make Frontier an “ultra-low cost” airline. CEO David Siegel wrote in an email to the airline’s frequent flyers that “with this new approach to pricing, Frontier is committed to giving you a better overall value because you only pay for the services you will use, rather than including them in the price of your fare.” Indeed, Frontier is working to morph itself into more of a fee-dependent airline like Spirit, says George Hobica, the founder of AirfareWatchdog.com. The airline says that the fees will end up lowering base fares an average of 12%.

$25 for overhead bins? Frontier Airlines says yes

To be sure, if you want to avoid being nickeled and dimed by the airline, you can pay more for a ticket — the airline offers a “Classic Plus” fare that is more all-inclusive and gives flyers a free carry-on and checked bag. And you can still bring a personal item — as long as it fits under the seat — for free.

Frontier is far from alone in forcing consumers to pay fees for what was once given to them free. Ticket prices only account for about 70% of the revenue that major airlines generate, down from 84% in 2000; meanwhile, fee revenue is going up. In 2012 (the latest full-year data available), the nation’s 15 largest airlines raked in baggage fees totaling $3.5 billion (up 3.8% from 2011) ticket-change fees of $2.6 billion (up 7.3% from 2011). What’s more, Hobica says that other airlines will be watching what happens with these new fees on Frontier, and if passengers don’t shun the airline because of them, may institute fees like this on their airlines in the future.

While Frontier is pitching this new move as good for consumers — the CEO wrote that it would mean that “ from now on you’ll have a better chance of getting the seat you want and over the next few months you’ll find you no longer have to worry about finding space for your carry-on bag in the overhead bins” — there’s no doubt it will enrage many passengers.

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