Want a Beer on Frontier? Plan to Use Plastic

Enjoy sipping a glass of wine or watching Man vs. Wild on the seat-back TV when flying Frontier Airlines?

Be prepared to pull out the plastic.

Starting April 1, the Denver-based carrier will only accept credit and debit cards for in-flight purchases.

The move comes as more airlines allow passengers to use credit cards to buy snack boxes, movies, alcoholic drinks and other items during flights.

Several discount airlines also recently implemented plastic-only policies for onboard purchases.

It's a quick turnaround for Frontier, which just a few months ago accepted only cash for alcoholic drinks, although passengers could use credit cards for movies and live TV on its seat-back screens.

Frontier says the switch to a "cashless cabin" is partly a convenience issue. It's easier for flight attendants to run plastic through portable card readers than to collect cash and make change, and passengers don't have to worry about hitting the ATM.

"It's not as clean of a process when someone's got a $20 bill and the flight attendant has to go looking for change," said Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas.

Frontier also says it will help the company keep track of onboard purchases - making it easier to meet certain federal regulations related to reporting revenue.

Observers say accepting credit cards can boost the bottom line as well, as passengers tend to spend more when using credit and debit cards. And it reduces the chances money is lost or stolen.

"It makes everything pretty simple," said Tom Parsons, who runs travel site Bestfares.com in Texas.

"Purchases on board are hard to keep track of. It also closes a loophole so there is no pressure of dishonesty, so there aren't any sticky fingers."

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