Frontier Airlines Will Now Let You Pay To Block Middle Seat

UPDATE: As of reporting, Frontier Airlines has removed this option for it's customers. Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said late Wednesday that the company never intended to profit from safety, it just wanted to provide customers an option for more space. The chairman of the House Transportation Committee accused Frontier of using the need for social distancing during a virus pandemic “as an opportunity to make a buck."

Original story below.

When you get back in the air to travel one airline will give you the option to keep the middle seat in your row open, but it will cost you.

Frontier Airlines is offering a "More Room" seating option to guarantee the middle seat stays unoccupied during flights allowing passengers to keep a slight (but not six feet) social distance when traveling.

Frontier's seating option will be offered on flights departing May 8 through August 31, with 18 "More Room" seats available on each flight, though there are anywhere from 26 to 41 rows on the carrier's aircraft. Tickets start at $39 per passenger for the option.

Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines began blocking off middle seats in April, with no charge to passengers. American Airlines said it will leave 50% of middle seats in the main cabin empty and "will only use those seats when necessary."

According to CNN, the number of air passengers has dropped 96% since the pandemic began in March.

Additional precautions include Frontier, Delta, American and JetBlue having all made masks mandatory for passengers while they're aboard, and they're recommended at most gates. Many of those same airlines are cutting their flight capacity in half as well.