How buying flights in person at the Las Vegas airport can be cheaper

By Carly Coombs | Posted: Aug. 4, 2025

If you are planning on flying a budget airline soon, there’s a possibility you can get your tickets cheaper by purchasing them in person at the airport. 

The Las Vegas airport currently has several budget airlines, and Frontier, Breeze, Spirit, and Sun Country all allow customers to book at the airport for less. 

The practice is common among budget airlines (Breeze and Allegiant do the same at the Provo Airport, as well as Frontier and Spirit at the Salt Lake City Airport) since these airlines often apply “optional” fees to tickets when customers purchase online or over the phone. 

Because these fees are considered optional (since you can avoid them at the airport), airlines don’t have to pay the 7.5% federal excise tax that is added to base fares in the U.S., saving the airline a bit of cash. 

The fees vary with each airline, along with what hours and/or days you can book them at the airport. Here is a breakdown for each airline that offers this hack at the Harry Reid International Airport:

Frontier Airlines

On all of its flights, Frontier applies a “carrier interface charge” of up to $23 per segment. For a round-trip, nonstop flight, the fee could add up to $46. For flights that have a layover, the fee could be even higher as it is applied to each leg of the flight. 

Here’s an example: 

On this nonstop, round-trip flight from Las Vegas to Denver, the carrier fee is $46, meaning booking at the airport could take this flight from $176 to $130. 

In some cases, the savings will be less. For example, on this nonstop flight from LAS to LAX, the fee is about $20 of the total fare.

If you want to purchase at the airport, Frontier’s counters typically open two hours before a planned departure and close one hour before, so you’ll have to check the airport’s flight board to time your visit. 

Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines charges a “Passenger Usage Charge” of $9-$28 per segment on its flights. For a nonstop flight, the fee could range from $18-$56 round-trip. 

For this nonstop flight from Vegas to Atlanta, the fee adds up to $56, bringing this $155 flight down to $99.

Similar to Frontier, sometimes the fees are lower. This nonstop flight to Burbank, California, for example, the fees make up about $18 of the flight price.

Spirit lists its “preferred reservation sales hours” on its website for the Las Vegas airport, stating the hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Breeze Airways

Breeze applies a “technology development charge” on each leg of its flights, and the amount can vary quite a bit. 

On this nonstop, round-trip flight to Akron, Ohio, the technology development charge is $28 on a $198 flight. 

But on this nonstop, round-trip flight to Fort Myers, Florida, the fee is $92 on a $240 ticket. Getting that fee waived at the airport would bring your cost down to $148, which is about 40% off.

Since the fee can vary so much, make sure to check online before you go to the airport (I would recommend the day of) to see what the fee currently is. 

I’ve used this hack with Breeze at the Provo Airport, and the first time I checked my flight, the fee was only $14, but the day I went to the airport, it had gone up to $33, making the hassle more worth it.  

Unlike some other budget airlines that allow customers to purchase tickets when the counters are already open for normal operations, Breeze only allows in-person ticket purchases on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at LAS. (The policy is counters are open on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Time.) 

Sun Country Airlines

Sun Country applies a “passenger interface charge” of $22 per segment of its flights. That could add up to $44 for a nonstop, round-trip flight or $88 on a flight with a layover. 

Here’s a quick look at how much you can save at the airport on this nonstop flight to Minneapolis. 

Here, it would bring a $147 ticket down to $103.

For Sun Country, its ticket counters are open 2 ½ hours before a scheduled departure and close 45 minutes before departure. 

Allegiant Air

Allegiant is also known for letting customers bypass its carrier fees by purchasing at the airport, but unfortunately, the airline do not allow for ticket purchases at the Las Vegas airport.

On the Allegiant’s webpage listing airport ticket counter hours, it directs LAS customers to call the airline’s customer care phone number. Customers can call to book and ask to have Allegiant’s “electronic carrier usage charge” waived, but there’s no guarantee of having it waived.

How to purchase at the airport 

While this travel hack can save you money, it also takes some time and is less convenient, so it’ll be up to you if the savings on the fees are enough to justify your time. 

If you’re booking tickets for your family, the savings can certainly add up. Using the example above of a Frontier flight to Denver, you could save $280 for a family of five. 

If you decide to purchase at the airport, avoid paying for add-ons, like baggage or seat selection, at the counter because any upgrades will cost more in person vs. purchasing them online. For example, a carry-on bag on Breeze will cost you $30 if paid online. That cost jumps to $75 if you pay for it at the airport. Instead, book your ticket without any add-ons and then later go and add any extras online.

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