Yesterday I flew Frontier Airlines for the first time, which is one of the biggest ultra low cost carriers (ULCCs) in the United States. I have nothing against ULCCs, because if they can get you nonstop to your destination at a reasonable price, then you can’t really beat that. Besides, it’s not like flying with American Airlines is a luxury experience.
However, based on my Frontier Airlines experience, I’d avoid the airline going forward. I’m not sure if this is an issue with the airline as such, or just the route I was flying, or if I was just really unlucky. Regardless, the experience made me yearn for American Airlines, which doesn’t happen often.
In this post:
Why we booked Frontier Airlines
I needed to fly from Islip to Tampa, and the only airline with a nonstop flight yesterday was Frontier Airlines. With the general travel chaos nowadays, flying nonstop and avoiding a major airport (like JFK) just seemed easier, so this was my opportunity to give Frontier Airlines a try.
I booked this ticket last minute, and even though Frontier is an ultra low cost carrier, that doesn’t mean fares are always cheap. The fare was $140 one-way, and that included virtually nothing. I had a full size carry-on and a checked bag, so the best value ended up being adding “The Works Bundle,” where for an extra $151 I received a carry-on, a checked bag, priority boarding, complimentary extra legroom seating, etc. The airline claims this is actually a $425 value… hah.
So I’d hardly consider a nearly $300 one-way ticket to be “low cost,” but it was convenient, and there were no better alternatives.
What I didn’t mind about Frontier Airlines
There were a few good things about the Frontier experience, and a few things I didn’t mind.
Some good things included:
- Even though the flight was in the evening, it operated on-time, and checked bags arrived less than 20 minutes after landing, which was impressive
- The legroom in the “Stretch” section of the cabin is phenomenal, better than Main Cabin Extra on American Airlines; the legroom in the other seats, however…
- The crew was generally well intentioned and tried to be professional
Then there are the things that I knew going in, which aren’t great, but didn’t bother me. For example:
- Frontier has no power ports, no entertainment of any sort, no Wi-Fi, etc.; it seems kind of weird that none of this is on the carrier’s radar even in 2022, but whatever
- Standard Frontier seats don’t recline, and are hard as rocks
Like I said, I expected all of this going in, so I’m not going to hold it against the airline.
What made Frontier Airlines bad
So, what was my beef with the Frontier Airlines experience? The people, and that the whole experience feels kind of patronizing and unprofessional. Let me try to (delicately) discuss both of those topics.
My fellow Frontier passengers
Look, I have pretty low expectations of the traveling public, and I’ve seen some things in my years of flying. However, nothing could quite prepare me for this Frontier Airlines flight. Now, I’m not sure if it’s the airline, the route, or a combination of both, but I’ve never been stuck in a plane with a crowd quite like this.
Where do we even begin? For one, I’ve never seen a bathroom as disgusting as this one on a domestic flight. People simply didn’t flush. There was pee all over the floor. Some people didn’t even bother trying to close the door while using the bathroom. Worst of all? A good number of people went into the bathroom barefoot.
Then there was the guy who repeatedly tried to go into the bathroom (barefoot) with a big bag of stuff. The crew told him over and over he couldn’t take that in there, but he kept trying. He’d line up for the bathroom every time right where my seat was.
Speaking of the bathroom and being barefoot, I saw a person seated near us go to the bathroom barefoot, and then try to rest their feet on the back of the armrest in front.
The guy seated immediately in front of me was watching something on his iPhone for nearly the whole flight with headphones on. Perfect, right? Well, for an hour straight, he would laugh out loud probably every 10 seconds. I’m not talking just a quiet chuckle, but rather more of a screaming laugh. Over and over and over and over. Even with earbuds in I could hear him.
The whole boarding process was just downright bizarre as well. People would push and shove forward as if the plane was about to leave without them. Never mind some of the commentary I overheard from proud Frontier Airlines passengers, like someone telling their travel companion “I’d never fly with that trash on Southwest Airlines, they don’t even assign seats.” Right, let’s go with that…
What’s kind of terrifying is that the A320neo we flew was just a few years old, but it felt a couple of decades old based on how beat up the interior was.
The Frontier experience is patronizing & unprofessional
I can appreciate that ultra low cost carriers make their money on fees, and it can be a challenge communicating that to customers so they know what to expect. However, I found Frontier’s communication around this to be rather patronizing.
Take the below sign as an example, pointing out how everyone can help prevent flight delays by paying for your carry-on early. By using an eagle, the airline almost tries to make it seem like a patriotic duty. Which, come and think of it, that might not be a bad strategy given the customer base.
I also find it kind of obnoxious how Frontier makes everything about the environment. The airline attributes everything that sucks about the passenger experience to being about the environment. 28″ of pitch? Welcome aboard American’s greenest airline!
The checked bag limit recently being lowered from 50 pounds to 40 pounds (and being able to pay nearly double as much to increase the weight limit to the previous 50 pounds)? That’s also about keeping carbon emissions low! During the booking process and at the airport, there are signs everywhere reminding you of how green Frontier is.
Let’s be honest, the green that Frontier really cares about is its own bottom line (which is fair enough, but let’s call it what it is).
I was also really confused about Frontier’s staffing situation. None of the ground agents had uniforms on. I’m not just saying they didn’t have Frontier uniforms, they didn’t have any uniforms at all. Was that a fluke? Is this a cost saving measure?
Just about all the staff were friendly but also seemed to lack basic customer service training. For example, the gate agent was constantly blowing his nose and sneezing into his hand, and then he’d continue to handle boarding passes and interact with customers without sanitizing, or anything. During deplaning, the flight attendant stood with his back toward passengers and was texting on his phone.
The whole thing was just… weird.
Bottom line
I flew Frontier Airlines for the first time, and it was pretty bad. Most of the experience was what I was expecting, but what I couldn’t fully anticipate was the lack of basic decorum from the crowd onboard. I’m not sure if I just got really unlucky on this flight, or if this is pretty common on Frontier. I’ve flown plenty of ultra low cost carriers, but this situation was especially bad.
While the flight time was only 2hr40min, it felt like an eternity…
If you’ve flown Frontier before, what was your experience like? Did I just get unlucky?
I used the Frontier Airlines on August 11, 2024 - and had never flown with them before. My destination was Las Vegas to Portland, Oregon in a non-stop flight. I have not only been confused on their process with the bags, I am still wondering if I am going to get some other bill. When I went on the website, they said the only way to check in or manage the flight was on their...
I used the Frontier Airlines on August 11, 2024 - and had never flown with them before. My destination was Las Vegas to Portland, Oregon in a non-stop flight. I have not only been confused on their process with the bags, I am still wondering if I am going to get some other bill. When I went on the website, they said the only way to check in or manage the flight was on their Frontier App on a phone. So I got the app--it had a way to change my seat assignment (stated zero cost) so I switched from a seat to 6C. Then it had all the garb about the carry-on luggage, so I claimed I had one carry-on luggage, and again the site said (zero cost), so I declared the bag. Then it took me to the end and said 326.00 or something crazy like that---so I quickly tried to get off the app. (I spoke to a passenger on the same flight that said that happened to her also).
So when I printed out my ticket at the airport--it did show my seat change, and that I had a bag, and put me in Zone 1, priority boarding, so I have no idea if I am paying that additional money or not even now.
I had already bought the ticket on Travelocity. Anyway the flight was an utter nightmare.
We were on the tarmac for at least 35 minutes, and the pilot said, we have 25 planes ahead of us for the runway---then the pilot said he would be shutting off the engines to conserve fuel (in Vegas, which is very hot). So we did take off with no issues, and then noticed you could not even get a small can of Coke without paying 3.99. They said they would provide a small cup of water that was about a quarter of a cup.
Everything was charged, which the prices were outrageous for horrible junk food. The attendants served everyone right next to my seat, never moving until the very end opening and shutting the draws for about 30 minutes at my seat, it was crazy.
Then I had a passenger directly behind me that snored most of the flight (loudly)---the attendants never even addressed that even though it was disturbing to anyone on the side of him, back of him or front of him. I will NEVER fly Frontier ever again---I swore to myself if I made it home from this experience I would pay double before going up in the air in this airline.
To Mr B Schlapping .I cannot thank you enuf for your honest, plain spoken comments on the experience flying Frontier from Islip to Tampa ? I believe .I thought I had a plan - Frontier has a one legged flight from Cancun back to KC. I tried to keep an open mind as I ticked down your experience list .You were not overly critical but the proverbial straw was showing that very telling g sign...
To Mr B Schlapping .I cannot thank you enuf for your honest, plain spoken comments on the experience flying Frontier from Islip to Tampa ? I believe .I thought I had a plan - Frontier has a one legged flight from Cancun back to KC. I tried to keep an open mind as I ticked down your experience list .You were not overly critical but the proverbial straw was showing that very telling g sign regarding your baggage handling . I thought I don't need special seating,priority boarding or even to have to use restroom but the sign just sunk the "No way" 8 ball to seek other option to return home TIA crisi W.
Horrible!!! The staff must be used to people complaining so my guess is that they are just rude upfront. When I made my reservation I correctly entered my TSA Precheck ktn and Frontier's computer didn't load it. There are NO humans in a call center, just a bad robot that doesn't understand record locators and artificial intelligence that insults you over and over. I found the entire experience intolerable. I had to stand in a...
Horrible!!! The staff must be used to people complaining so my guess is that they are just rude upfront. When I made my reservation I correctly entered my TSA Precheck ktn and Frontier's computer didn't load it. There are NO humans in a call center, just a bad robot that doesn't understand record locators and artificial intelligence that insults you over and over. I found the entire experience intolerable. I had to stand in a long security line when the line I pay extra (TSA Precheck) had no wait. I wish the FAA would require Frontier Airlines to hire humans... especially since I saw an elderly woman who needed help with the self service bag tags. Again, on a scale of 1-10 I'd give the airline a ZERO. Horrible Horrible Absolutely Horrible
My boyfriend and I had the worst experience with frontier today. Basically we had to rebook. Were given physical copies of our new boarding passes, and waited 4 hours for the new flight. I’m constantly checking my email for updates, in which we received two delays. Well we get to our pre determined gate assigned on our boarding pass and realize that no one is boarding with the new set time. My boyfriend was able...
My boyfriend and I had the worst experience with frontier today. Basically we had to rebook. Were given physical copies of our new boarding passes, and waited 4 hours for the new flight. I’m constantly checking my email for updates, in which we received two delays. Well we get to our pre determined gate assigned on our boarding pass and realize that no one is boarding with the new set time. My boyfriend was able to see through the app the same flight now had a different gate. Well you could only imagine we make it to the gate as they finish boarding. Why wouldn’t we receive an email notification that the gate was changed? Or have frontier workers letting people know at the original gate that it was changed up until boarding was complete. It was a disaster. And it made me recall how low class the customer service, guest service, and the people on board are. The planes smell like fart and cheese. It’s uncomfortable. Everyone getting off the plane acts like you get off when it stops, and not front to back, like you actually have to wait for the people sitting in front first. And one time my boyfriend and I got to our seats upon boarding the flight and some black dude was viciously eating bone in chicken with his bare hands sucking on the bones and his fingers and smacking for the first 45 minutes of the flight. No eye contact or even a cordial hello. Not to mention the weirdo took one of our seats. Very low class airline.
I flew Frontier once and never ever again. Ille just pay the cost of another airline. Very stressful unclassy crowd of weird people. Plus charging extra for everything. They make flying stressful.
I went to frontier flight attendant training, passing all my exams and drills. I could not believe how disgusting the staff was how horribly you were spoke to and treated the facility we stayed at the beds were like ditches. I was starving. The food was horrible and to top it off a trainee had a heart attack and died People were sick because they are using filthy demonstration equipment I would never represent a...
I went to frontier flight attendant training, passing all my exams and drills. I could not believe how disgusting the staff was how horribly you were spoke to and treated the facility we stayed at the beds were like ditches. I was starving. The food was horrible and to top it off a trainee had a heart attack and died People were sick because they are using filthy demonstration equipment I would never represent a company like frontier. Yes they’re low cost but what really they are is low class.
Almost forgot, just on a recent trip coming back from Orlando, checking in the exact same luggage with the exact same contents, it just happened to be 2 pounds over weight. Ironically, it was well under 40 pounds leaving Cleveland. Frontier charged me $100 for 2 pounds. They said I could take 2 pounds of stuff out of the suitcase and put it in a small computer bag I was carrying. So for some reason...
Almost forgot, just on a recent trip coming back from Orlando, checking in the exact same luggage with the exact same contents, it just happened to be 2 pounds over weight. Ironically, it was well under 40 pounds leaving Cleveland. Frontier charged me $100 for 2 pounds. They said I could take 2 pounds of stuff out of the suitcase and put it in a small computer bag I was carrying. So for some reason that 2 pounds cost them $100 more if it was in the belly of the plane and cost nothing if it I had it in my possession at my seat. Why would any of us fly this piece of crap airline ever again. The attendant at the bag drop was a total bitch and seemed to take pleasure charging the $100.
Pretty soon they will start charging for the oxygen you breath on the plane. This airline is the worst...I only fly them because most of the time they are the only ones with flights out of Cleveland. Patronizing, charge for everything...they are not low cost, they are low.
Whoever is on Frontiers pricing teams, they should all be fired or better yet, let them go through the Frontier experience.
When is an airline going to...
Pretty soon they will start charging for the oxygen you breath on the plane. This airline is the worst...I only fly them because most of the time they are the only ones with flights out of Cleveland. Patronizing, charge for everything...they are not low cost, they are low.
Whoever is on Frontiers pricing teams, they should all be fired or better yet, let them go through the Frontier experience.
When is an airline going to be created that offers a reasonably comfortable experience, reasonable services, all for a fair price without all of these pricing games that are played?
For that it would need to be at least partly govt operated. And as taxpayers we should demand an end to these private only airlines who only operate on a profit basis
I just flew from Phoenix to Orange County this past Friday and we had a 1 hour delay which we later found out was because a seat wouldn't recline properly (and of course they still sat someone in that seat.) Then once we all got on the plane, they had to move like 30-40 passengers because the front of the plane was too light for take-off. No drink service, not even allowed to use the...
I just flew from Phoenix to Orange County this past Friday and we had a 1 hour delay which we later found out was because a seat wouldn't recline properly (and of course they still sat someone in that seat.) Then once we all got on the plane, they had to move like 30-40 passengers because the front of the plane was too light for take-off. No drink service, not even allowed to use the bathrooms because there was very mild turbulence. Small leg room I've ever seen, no wifi, no professionalism, they nickel and dime you on EVERYTHING, they aren't cheap at all. With the fees they end up being much more expensive then any major airliner.
Oh and I ended up driving back to Phoenix because they sent an email out early in the day saying my return flight would be delayed by 2 hours!!! Not to mention while there on Friday, the gate next to us delayed the flight to San Diego and also cancelled a flight altogether to Michigan (all Frontier flights)
I WILL NEVER EVER EVER GIVE SPIRT, FRONTIER, OR ALLEGIANT A SINGLE PENNY
They boarded me on the wrong flight got to Denver instead of Orlando a Spanish lady was not professional and had a stinky attitude a supervisor Paula was kinda caring she housed me in a hotel it took the shuttle for ever I was cold and tired so I went back the next day and they said I couldn't board with my bag they said Denver didn't do that all finally I boarded the plane...
They boarded me on the wrong flight got to Denver instead of Orlando a Spanish lady was not professional and had a stinky attitude a supervisor Paula was kinda caring she housed me in a hotel it took the shuttle for ever I was cold and tired so I went back the next day and they said I couldn't board with my bag they said Denver didn't do that all finally I boarded the plane and it was chaos on the plane right where I was sitting an employee was rude to an African lady very hostile I got up just in case they got violent I have never experienced any of the this ever since I been flying the employees were not professional at all they should have felt embrassed and have very little customer service skills it's sad.
I’ve traveled with Frontier quite often and fact is ; u get what u pay for . And I’m only trying to get from point A to point B. If they means dealing with a loud passenger than I would and have gotten noise cancellation earphones. I have purchased one large checked bag and then had the one carry on and it always met my needs. Here recently I had two weeks on the friendly...
I’ve traveled with Frontier quite often and fact is ; u get what u pay for . And I’m only trying to get from point A to point B. If they means dealing with a loud passenger than I would and have gotten noise cancellation earphones. I have purchased one large checked bag and then had the one carry on and it always met my needs. Here recently I had two weeks on the friendly skies with different stops and paid a whopping $479.00 for three passengers on three different flights from PHX to CVG to MCO back to PHX and that is what I call a bargain. We did have to go back and pay for the checked bag fee for two passengers each flight but even then that was a steal. Especially since we had a baby with car seat and stroller in tow. Those items being free . U kinda have to work the airline exceptions . Stick blankets in with the stroller or diapers on with the car seat and if the bag really is heavy pay the weight increase fee. It’s still worth the occasional loud passenger.
Our experience in july 2023: Frontier had more convenient flight times for our needs, so my wife and I (both very experienced travelers) decided to fly with them to visit relatives, even though we are well aware of the upcharges for carry-ons or seats or a paper boarding pass or for talking with an agent, etc., etc. The outbound flight was satisfactory and arrived on time.
The return flight was canceled without notice or...
Our experience in july 2023: Frontier had more convenient flight times for our needs, so my wife and I (both very experienced travelers) decided to fly with them to visit relatives, even though we are well aware of the upcharges for carry-ons or seats or a paper boarding pass or for talking with an agent, etc., etc. The outbound flight was satisfactory and arrived on time.
The return flight was canceled without notice or recourse, leaving us stranded in Fargo, ND on a Sunday morning with no hope of a seat on another flight even on another airline for several days at least. There was no Frontier gate agent at the airport and no assistance could be had by phone or online. Frontier did refund our return fare, but we had to pay $541 for a 24 hr car rental, then spend 14 hrs driving 900 miles in order to be back in Denver for work on Monday. Guaranteed that we will NEVER even consider Frontier in our future travel plans. If they can simply cancel your flight without any warning, why would you take the chance?
Recently flew Philadelphia to Boston. The flight was delayed about half an hour because the crew had not arrived at the airport. When returning from Boston to Philadephia, the flight was delayed just over 2 hours. To complicate matters Frontier kept sending emails announcing different departure times...some longer others shorter. We eventually boarded with no apology or explanation. First and last Frontier experience.
L
What I especially despise about Frontier is the upselling. It is ridiculous to pay to be able to speak to an agent, especially when their website sucks. Maybe making their website suck is the point so you really want to pay to speak to a human. Don't try their chat though. I waited an hour to have the agent tell me I had no options at all to change my flight, so why did they...
What I especially despise about Frontier is the upselling. It is ridiculous to pay to be able to speak to an agent, especially when their website sucks. Maybe making their website suck is the point so you really want to pay to speak to a human. Don't try their chat though. I waited an hour to have the agent tell me I had no options at all to change my flight, so why did they charge me to enable that? If you need to, they don't allow you to change the destination, only the date and time--tho the website claims it is possible to do so. Good luck making it work. If you use your option, you don't get to opt out of this once you use change your date and time; they automatically add in the fee again. Then the silly "be first to board" charge. Isn't it bad enough I can take only a purse and have to wear all my clothing at once? Next it will be, "Need to use the toilet? That will be $10.00." I opted for Discount Den, then at the end, they spring you with the additional $40.00 admin fee. Geez. I wish I would have booked Delta.
I flight on August fust time and was a delay to departure for 1 and half hour. That cause I lost my transfer flight. No customer service to talk only by chat. They sent me on another flight lost 14 hrs. No vouchers for meals or stays at hotel. Never again use that airline
They nickel and dime you to death. I paid the "low cost" for my flight and got scammed into paying an addirional $19 for the seat I already purchased? Wtf? The guy checking in right before me had a suitcase that weighed 41lbs and was told it would be $75 more to check it. 1 extra pound cost more than the $65 checked bag fee (which is ridiculous enough already. I will never fly frontier again. They are AWFUL!
Unprofessional and Rude.Worse customer service ever.
Bad ! Customer service is the worse I have had to deal with. Over charged. And cancel of flight 1 1\2 hrs before flight. With no refund. Because computer not working. You had no problem texting everyone?
Frontier is a ultra low scum bag airline that is never on time, constantly cancels routes and is not cheap at all. They nickel and dime you to death - that is why I do not, and have never flown with these clowns.
I have never seen the blind leasing blind on an airline before. It took forever for the boarding attendant to decide to board them we started to go down the corridor to get on the plan and everything stopped. Then i have a sore on my leg and tried to get around a bag that the flight attendant left right in the isle. I complained that you should have taken care of that earlier and he said my attitude needs to improve!
I must express my profound disappointment and frustration regarding the numerous flight disruptions I encountered during my recent reservations with Frontier Airlines. I had booked a flight from Denver International Airport (DIA) to San Diego, with a layover in Las Vegas. However, the repeated cancellations and delays have not only ruined our travel plans but have also caused significant financial losses and emotional distress for myself, my two children, and my elderly father.
To provide...
I must express my profound disappointment and frustration regarding the numerous flight disruptions I encountered during my recent reservations with Frontier Airlines. I had booked a flight from Denver International Airport (DIA) to San Diego, with a layover in Las Vegas. However, the repeated cancellations and delays have not only ruined our travel plans but have also caused significant financial losses and emotional distress for myself, my two children, and my elderly father.
To provide a clear overview of the ordeal we have experienced, I would like to outline the sequence of events:
1. Initial Cancellation: Our flight, scheduled for 5 am this morning, was unexpectedly canceled without any prior notice. Despite our early arrival at DIA at 3 am, we were informed of the cancellation, which shattered our plans for a day in Las Vegas and subsequently impacted our entire trip.
2. Delays and Further Cancellations: After the initial cancellation, our rescheduled flight was subject to continuous delays and subsequent cancellations. The departure time was pushed back to noon, then to 1 pm, further postponed to 6 pm, rescheduled again to 7 pm, and ultimately canceled once more.
3. Unfulfilled Promises: Throughout this disheartening experience, Frontier Airlines representatives assured us of receiving food vouchers and reimbursement for transportation expenses. However, despite these promises, we have yet to receive any of the aforementioned support. The absence of these provisions has only compounded our difficulties and left us feeling abandoned and disregarded by the airline.
The consequences of these flight disruptions have been far-reaching and distressing. Firstly, I had made reservations and paid for activities in Las Vegas, all of which had to be canceled, resulting in financial losses. Additionally, our plans in San Diego for tonight were irreversibly affected due to the flight cancellations, further compounding the negative impact on our overall travel experience.
Furthermore, the emotional toll on my family, particularly my two young children and elderly father, has been substantial. The constant uncertainty, prolonged delays, and dashed expectations have significantly diminished the enjoyment and excitement we had anticipated for this trip. Frontier Airlines' inability to provide reliable and efficient service has not only marred our vacation but has also undermined our trust and confidence in the airline.
In light of these distressing circumstances, I am requesting the following:
1. Full Compensation: Given the financial losses incurred due to canceled reservations and the subsequent expenses resulting from the flight disruptions, I expect full reimbursement for all non-refundable costs associated with this trip, including the expenses for canceled activities and reservations.
2. Accountability and Explanation: I demand a thorough and detailed explanation for the repeated flight cancellations and delays without sufficient prior notice. It is essential that Frontier Airlines takes accountability for the inconvenience, emotional distress, and financial hardships inflicted upon my family.
3. Improved Customer Support: Frontier Airlines must prioritize enhancing its customer support systems to ensure timely and effective communication during flight disruptions. Promised reimbursements for food and transportation expenses must be promptly fulfilled to alleviate the burdens faced by passengers during such trying circumstances.
Additionally, I want to express my profound disappointment with the offered $100 voucher to fly with Frontier Airlines again. Given the extent of the disruption to our travel plans and the subsequent negative impact on our overall experience, I cannot fathom choosing your airline for future travels. I strongly urge Frontier Airlines to reconsider this offer and provide a more appropriate compensation package that reflects the gravity of the inconvenience, financial losses, and emotional distress we have endured.
Frontier Airlines' handling of this situation has left an indelible mark on our family's vacation and has tainted our perception of the airline.
I totally agree they are terrible. I got the All You Can Fly Pass and it was a mistake. There were flight available most of the time. Don't buy it.
That all it seems that Frontier airlines cares about, obviously they don’t care about delays and keeping passengers safe. They allowed their passengers to wait hours for delays flights. They don’t keep their words of being on time.
Delayed my flights- both going and coming- by 2 hours. The “crew” talk to each other, not the passengers who have problems, like on 1 flight, the wrong plane was listed for people choosing seats late. They were roaming around looking for rows that didn’t exist, getting off the plane looking for help because the 9 minimum crew didn’t give a crap. Thd reason I picked them was because they had the shortest flight time....
Delayed my flights- both going and coming- by 2 hours. The “crew” talk to each other, not the passengers who have problems, like on 1 flight, the wrong plane was listed for people choosing seats late. They were roaming around looking for rows that didn’t exist, getting off the plane looking for help because the 9 minimum crew didn’t give a crap. Thd reason I picked them was because they had the shortest flight time. That’s useless when you add 2 hours just sitting in the airport. I paid the same as I wouldn’t paid elsewhere, given the fees, so its a bait and switch to deceive people about when you take off. A caveat: NOT for people with lower back issues even if everything else is great.
Arrived at check in and when my turn came I was greeted with a rued your flight was canceled. I then asked why I wasn’t notified and he said did you check your email, I replied with a of course I did then was not given any more information other than go to Delta. My flight was to arrive in Atlanta Georgia from Bradley International Airport in Connecticut at 11:40 Am and depart at 8:55...
Arrived at check in and when my turn came I was greeted with a rued your flight was canceled. I then asked why I wasn’t notified and he said did you check your email, I replied with a of course I did then was not given any more information other than go to Delta. My flight was to arrive in Atlanta Georgia from Bradley International Airport in Connecticut at 11:40 Am and depart at 8:55 and land in Cincinnati at my destination at 3:38 Pm. Had to purchase a new ticket and still jumping through hoops for my refund. My new schedule which they didn’t care how what kind of a situation they put me in. Arrived at the ticket check in at 6:30 Am on 6/12/23 what was to be a a 7 hour day turned into a 18 hour day. 13 hours of layover. Never again will I fly this inconsiderate and rude airline.
Title: A Nightmare Experience with Frontier Airlines: No Customer Service, Overbooking, and More!
Review:
I recently had the unfortunate experience of flying with Frontier Airlines, and I must say, it was an absolute nightmare from start to finish. Where do I even begin? Let's start with the complete lack of customer service, which seemed to be non-existent throughout my entire ordeal.
First and foremost, Frontier Airlines has a serious overbooking problem. It's mind-boggling how...
Title: A Nightmare Experience with Frontier Airlines: No Customer Service, Overbooking, and More!
Review:
I recently had the unfortunate experience of flying with Frontier Airlines, and I must say, it was an absolute nightmare from start to finish. Where do I even begin? Let's start with the complete lack of customer service, which seemed to be non-existent throughout my entire ordeal.
First and foremost, Frontier Airlines has a serious overbooking problem. It's mind-boggling how they consistently sell more tickets than there are available seats on their flights. As a result, chaos ensues at the airport, and passengers like myself are left stranded with no recourse. On the day of my flight, I arrived at the airport only to be greeted by an outrageously long line to check in my luggage. There were at least 700 people ahead of me, and the lack of organization was painfully apparent.
To add insult to injury, Frontier Airlines has no qualms about leaving with a plane that is half empty due to their overbooking practices. It's absurd to think that they would prioritize squeezing in as many passengers as possible, even if it means inconveniencing others and causing them to miss their flights. This alone should be enough reason to steer clear of this airline.
Furthermore, once on board, the lackluster experience continued. There are no in-flight entertainment options, such as movies or even a basic entertainment system. Passengers are left to endure long flights in boredom and discomfort. The seats themselves are incredibly cramped and uncomfortable, making it nearly impossible to relax or find any semblance of comfort.
If you were expecting even a basic level of service in the form of food or drinks, prepare to be disappointed. Frontier Airlines seems to believe that their passengers don't require sustenance during their journey, as they offer nothing in terms of refreshments. It's simply unacceptable, especially considering the often lengthy flights one may endure with this airline.
Lastly, I must mention the deplorable attitudes displayed by the airline's employees. Throughout my interactions with them, it was clear that they had little to no regard for the passengers' well-being or satisfaction. Their lack of empathy and professionalism only further exacerbated an already stressful situation.
To make matters worse, when I attempted to reach out to Frontier Airlines to request a refund due to the fact that I missed my flight as a direct result of their overbooking, they were completely unresponsive. Their lack of responsiveness and unavailability to resolve the issue only solidified my belief that this airline cares more about profit than providing a satisfactory customer experience.
In conclusion, Frontier Airlines is without a doubt the worst airline I have ever had the misfortune of flying with. From their rampant overbooking practices to the lack of customer service, uncomfortable seating, and absence of basic amenities, this airline fails on multiple fronts. I strongly advise anyone considering booking with Frontier Airlines to think twice. Save yourself the headache, frustration, and disappointment, and choose an airline that actually values its customers. As for me, I will never fly with Frontier Airlines again, and I demand a refund for the appalling experience they subjected me to.
I, most certainly, can appreciate this review. I am not a flyer so I would love for my experience to be as relaxing as possible and mine with Frontier most definitely was the opposite. I'll just keep it short and say that prior to take off, someone, apparently, neglected to disconnect something from the plane and the tow bar broke. This caused us to have to stay grounded for about 25 minutes. Eventually, they let...
I, most certainly, can appreciate this review. I am not a flyer so I would love for my experience to be as relaxing as possible and mine with Frontier most definitely was the opposite. I'll just keep it short and say that prior to take off, someone, apparently, neglected to disconnect something from the plane and the tow bar broke. This caused us to have to stay grounded for about 25 minutes. Eventually, they let us off board with the hopes of "fixing" the issue by ordering a replacement part from another airport. After 4 hours of waiting inside, they finally cancel. Our luggage took about another hour plus to finally make it to us. We then had to put in requests for refunds using a QR code from some refund cards that they barely had enough of at the attendant stand. I am back home for the holiday, needless to say.... not good!
A Nightmare Journey of Delays, Disregard, and Disrespect.
I recently had the unfortunate experience of flying with Frontier Airlines, and let me tell you, it was an absolute nightmare. I had booked a flight from San Francisco to Tampa with a layover in Denver, and it turned out to be a complete disaster from start to finish.
Firstly, my flight from San Francisco was delayed without any clear explanation. This caused me to stay...
A Nightmare Journey of Delays, Disregard, and Disrespect.
I recently had the unfortunate experience of flying with Frontier Airlines, and let me tell you, it was an absolute nightmare. I had booked a flight from San Francisco to Tampa with a layover in Denver, and it turned out to be a complete disaster from start to finish.
Firstly, my flight from San Francisco was delayed without any clear explanation. This caused me to stay stranded at the airport for an additional six hours, leaving me exhausted and frustrated. But the worst part was that I had no idea if I would even be able to reach my final destination once I reached Denver. The lack of communication and organization was appalling.
To make matters worse, when I approached the Frontier Airlines staff for assistance, they were incredibly rude and unhelpful. Instead of offering any sort of compensation or solution, the only options they provided were to cancel my flight or rebook another flight for some uncertain future date. They refused to provide any vouchers for food or accommodation, completely disregarding the inconvenience and discomfort they had caused.
What shocked me the most was that Frontier Airlines no longer supports live customer service. Can you believe that? They don't even have a phone number to call for assistance. It's as if they don't care about their passengers' safety and well-being at all. This lack of customer support only amplified the already terrible experience.
Based on my experience, I strongly advise against considering Frontier Airlines for your travel needs. Their complete disregard for their customers, the lack of communication, and the utter incompetence in handling delays and disruptions make them an airline to avoid at all costs. Don't put your safety and well-being in the hands of such an unprofessional and uncaring airline.
Frontier is awful. Never again. Also rude personal..
My wife and daughter booked through fun jet to Cancun and today they were charged 400 extra bucks one way for the luggage both under 50lbs. Needless to say she was not happy and will complain to funjet about that!!! Unbelievably ridiculous if you ask me I can under 75 bucks over the limit but shit 800 extra bucks just to get your luggage there and back is complete rip-off! I know she will never...
My wife and daughter booked through fun jet to Cancun and today they were charged 400 extra bucks one way for the luggage both under 50lbs. Needless to say she was not happy and will complain to funjet about that!!! Unbelievably ridiculous if you ask me I can under 75 bucks over the limit but shit 800 extra bucks just to get your luggage there and back is complete rip-off! I know she will never book another vacation using this company. Thank goodness we’re flying United to cobo
Thanks to everyone that convinced me to not consider Frontier. At 6’5” and over 350, pretty sure I would be miserable even in their stretch seats. Plus the extra charges for a simple carry-on - Crazy!
I have flown numerous times domestic and international. Have to say none of the US carriers come close to service of any of the other international airlines. Delta is pretty close and very adequate but definitely not above...
Thanks to everyone that convinced me to not consider Frontier. At 6’5” and over 350, pretty sure I would be miserable even in their stretch seats. Plus the extra charges for a simple carry-on - Crazy!
I have flown numerous times domestic and international. Have to say none of the US carriers come close to service of any of the other international airlines. Delta is pretty close and very adequate but definitely not above others.
Thanks again for great comments. Will either fly Delta from Minnesota to Charlotte or will just drive. Driving is actually cheaper, even with hotels and on the road meals, just longer trip.
These low cost airlines sound worse than any bus trip I ever took years ago.
Happy travels to all.
I flew them twice, had no issues. I appreciated the staff & equipment. Gate agents were very nice. I arrived intact to my destination.
Seats are awful! Seems like you're sitting on plywood period and I was in the expensive upgraded stretch seats period
I just had a very similar experience (Denver to Philly) and will now avoid the airline. Bizarrely rude and unprofessional staff, chaotic boarding, run-down interior, inconsiderate fellow passengers. It felt like I was being gaslit by an airline! Yikes.
You come across as a novice naïve traveler. For example.
You complain repeatedly about the cost of your ticket. Nevermind the fact, that despite the extras you booked, it was still the cheapest flight out there.
You paid for the works man. You didn't need the works. One checked luggage is about 32 dollars. Two is like 60. You spent over 100 lol. You only pay extra for luggage if you hadn't booked it until...
You come across as a novice naïve traveler. For example.
You complain repeatedly about the cost of your ticket. Nevermind the fact, that despite the extras you booked, it was still the cheapest flight out there.
You paid for the works man. You didn't need the works. One checked luggage is about 32 dollars. Two is like 60. You spent over 100 lol. You only pay extra for luggage if you hadn't booked it until you were at the airport. Hell, you can check in and ad luggage to your ticket up to the point you check in with your tickets the day of. Ive done this while waiting in line, AT THE AIRPORT!
The toilet? Bruh. As someone who has worked upscale jobs, lowscale jobs, and everything in between. its not just "frontier customers" who destroy bathrooms. Ive seen far worse than that, on literally every airline and bus I have ever ridden in my life and I travel quite a bit. That bathroom wasn't even that bad lmao and youre going on like its in the running for worst flight bathroom of the year or something . Lmao.
Checked luggage in Frontier costs $63, the one with 62” linear and less than 40 pounds
My wife and I flew on Frontier airlines on March 3, supposedly to Palm Beach from Denver. The price was great ($400/RTperson v. $650 on other airlines). Totally relate to what you said about the people, but I actually like the idea that there is a way for people without a lot of resources to ride the skies, and so had no problem with that, although manners were in short supply. Here is the kicker....
My wife and I flew on Frontier airlines on March 3, supposedly to Palm Beach from Denver. The price was great ($400/RTperson v. $650 on other airlines). Totally relate to what you said about the people, but I actually like the idea that there is a way for people without a lot of resources to ride the skies, and so had no problem with that, although manners were in short supply. Here is the kicker. We flew to Atlanta, landed and boarded for our connection two+ hours late, and then sat on the runway for 4 hours. Then we returned to the gate (after the pilot said he had never had this experience in his 30 years of flying), we got off, and they told us the flight was cancelled. It was, at that time 9pm (and we were supposed to arrive in Palm Beach at 5:30 pm). Notably, we went to Delta, got on a 10:30 pm flight, and got off in Palm Beach by midnight or so. They just gave me a refund for $190 (less than 25% of the cost of tickets) since they had taken us 2/3 of the way to our destination. Outrageous, and i know so many others that have that experience. Lesson learned. NO MORE FRONTIER!!
Everything was good until one of workers in airplane was sooooo rude to me, just because didn’t hear what he said!!!!
Flight from midway airport to Miami,
My flight from Cancun to Atlanta was canceled (2 hr. 45 min. Non-stop) at the last moment. The only option was flying to Chicago, then back to Atlanta (12 hours total) no phone number to call. I will never fly frontier airline again. Ever!!!!!!!!!
It’s not just a matter of paying for your bag in advance to make it more convenient for others they charge you $99 for a carry on if you pay at airport. I am suprised the seat belt doesn’t cost you extra! The fees you pay for everything is insane considering you get nothing in return. I do not care if other airlines seem to charge more there is a price worth paying NOT to fly frontier
We flew Frontier for the first time last night.
It was my worst experience ever flying.
The seats are hard as a rock and hurt my back and rear end.
No refreshments or water were offered.
The seat in front of me was so close I could hardly move. We were packed in like sardines.
Never again!
Flying for the first and last time. Flight was never announced late despite being 30 mins passed posted boarding time. Boarded an hour later. Then sat in the plane for another hour and a half at the gate. No explanation. Poor communication and poor service.
OMG,Got on a flight at Philidalphia to Denver checked in everything seem to be doing well.Got to the gate there was a old lady waiting all by herself on a well hair heading to Orlando.She was to board frontier at 5:00pm it was already 6:00 they didn't let her no anything about what was going on..So I made sure she got on her flight to Orlando.She thanked me so much.Frontier is a Joke.Then they changed...
OMG,Got on a flight at Philidalphia to Denver checked in everything seem to be doing well.Got to the gate there was a old lady waiting all by herself on a well hair heading to Orlando.She was to board frontier at 5:00pm it was already 6:00 they didn't let her no anything about what was going on..So I made sure she got on her flight to Orlando.She thanked me so much.Frontier is a Joke.Then they changed my gate from E4 to E9 Everything seem to be doing ok at that moment.Then boarding the plane they made go and pay for my carry-on at the Poaidum 1 backpack and 1 small black bag they made me pay$200.00 for my carry-on I was sooooo MAD.Then getting on the plan I was saying how awful they were and they didn't do thing WELL so unprofessional RUDE all of the Workers at Frontier Gate.You don't even know what happened after that.So I get to my seat someone is sitting in my seat.i let them know.The flight attendants didn't even try to help you after paying for a good 200.00 for my carry-on.Sat in my seat for a moment then two Black women came to me and ask where is my things I showed them where.They said come with me.For no Reason they took me out of the Plane I ask them what is the reason no RESPOND from the Two Black Ladies Lost all of my 4Flights all the way to Hawaii Lost All the money.Dont Ever Fly with FRONTIER BAD COMPANY
Went to the PHL airport this morning at six to get on my Frontier flight to Florida. It was scheduled to leave at eight. When I check in at the kiosk, it says that I'm too early!!! Found out that last night, Frontier changed my flight. Instead of a non-stop straight to Florida in the morning, I have to take a flight at 130 this afternoon to Atlanta, with a three-hour layover! When I checked...
Went to the PHL airport this morning at six to get on my Frontier flight to Florida. It was scheduled to leave at eight. When I check in at the kiosk, it says that I'm too early!!! Found out that last night, Frontier changed my flight. Instead of a non-stop straight to Florida in the morning, I have to take a flight at 130 this afternoon to Atlanta, with a three-hour layover! When I checked my reservations last night, they hadn't changed. So, to find out this morning was beyond annoying to say the least. I don't even want to tell you how much I spent on Uber today!
The workers are full of racist people. I was talking in Spanish to a Spanish worker (just cuz I can). The Spanish worker kept saying racist things. I think he thinks it is funny, but I continue with the convo just cuz I'm curious why he felt so comfortable saying those things to me. Turns out he is just a racist worker who is probably just fed up with his job. The airlines in Mexico...
The workers are full of racist people. I was talking in Spanish to a Spanish worker (just cuz I can). The Spanish worker kept saying racist things. I think he thinks it is funny, but I continue with the convo just cuz I'm curious why he felt so comfortable saying those things to me. Turns out he is just a racist worker who is probably just fed up with his job. The airlines in Mexico are way better and more professional. I am friendly, but racist comments that can only be understood if you are Spanish is not really professional. Just a quick tip, ONLY buy Frontier airlines for family members you don't like like the in-laws, AND if you really hate someone, recommend this airline.
Just got off a Frontier flight from
Philadelphia to Phoenix tonight and was so annoyed by experience I had to see if others had similar situations. Seat next to me was covered in old puke that the cabin crew barely attempted to clean. There were splatters on the window, crusted puke remnants on the seat belts. Stains on the carpet. The whole area just reeked. Flight attendant 1 said “sorry we didn’t know otherwise...
Just got off a Frontier flight from
Philadelphia to Phoenix tonight and was so annoyed by experience I had to see if others had similar situations. Seat next to me was covered in old puke that the cabin crew barely attempted to clean. There were splatters on the window, crusted puke remnants on the seat belts. Stains on the carpet. The whole area just reeked. Flight attendant 1 said “sorry we didn’t know otherwise we would have cleaned it.” Flight attendant 2 said, “what do you mean there’s puke. There’s no puke”. We had to physically point to the puke evidence. Poor guy who had this seat assignment had to sit in the actual seat. That could have been me, just one seat over. Got so lucky! Also, the bathrooms in the Frontier terminals were atrocious at the Philly airport. Do airlines have a say in the care and maintenance of their terminals?? Terminal E, gate E4 at the Philly airport for those wondering. Avoid that bathroom. That terminal. I am not exaggerating when I say, wet floors by the toilets, barely working automatic faucets, almost no soap. Bathroom stalls were coated in a film of…who knows what. Most of the stalls were clogged or were not flushed/splattered with pee. But I digress. I will not fly Frontier again because as you too mentioned, I yearned for American Airlines which I never do.
On our first and only flight with Frontier, my husband and I had a very unpleasant experience. We will forgive the fact they were late. When we got on the plane, my husband sat down in a seat which had been reclined by the previous passenger. He did not notice this, and started to read on his kindle. A flight attendant came up to him before takeoff and started yelling at him to put the...
On our first and only flight with Frontier, my husband and I had a very unpleasant experience. We will forgive the fact they were late. When we got on the plane, my husband sat down in a seat which had been reclined by the previous passenger. He did not notice this, and started to read on his kindle. A flight attendant came up to him before takeoff and started yelling at him to put the seat back; she was yelling so loud that he couldn't tell what she was saying. He asked, "What are you saying?" and she immediately launched into a tirade, saying "Are we going to have trouble at 30,000 feet? Because if we are I will kick you off the plane right now." He still had no idea why she was attacking him, and I stepped in and told him quietly that his seat was reclined, and he promptly placed it upright. No thank you, apology or any niceties from her. There was no reason for her to act like this, on the attack from the get-go, and we decided that an airline that employed and allowed such nasty and unprofessional behavior was not an airline we would fly on in the future. When I contacted Frontier, customer service apologized and offered me $10 off of the next flight.
I agree 100%. I never fly this airline and had to for a quick direct flight. Not only did they change gates to a separate terminal (requiring to go back through TSA - after buying drinks and snacks that had to be thrown away to go back through TSA again), they didn’t communicate with any customers and left people to arrive at the wrong gate to learn it was wrong. Had the flight not been...
I agree 100%. I never fly this airline and had to for a quick direct flight. Not only did they change gates to a separate terminal (requiring to go back through TSA - after buying drinks and snacks that had to be thrown away to go back through TSA again), they didn’t communicate with any customers and left people to arrive at the wrong gate to learn it was wrong. Had the flight not been delayed (another issue) I would have missed my flight. Not only did the agents not care I had to throw $20 in food in the trash, they were making people pay ‘carry on’ prices for backpacks. They had an unhappy woman that this was her sole purpose and she had been given too much power. If she thought you should pay for your bag, you had to. I saw several people with smaller backpacks than mine and they were being pulled to pay. I found it odd that most we African Americans that this lady was flagging. This airline has issues that seem to be universal. I’ve never flown with Frontier and never will again. This is a trash experience.
Currently on a frontier flight right now and if I could get off and fly with a different airline, I would. I don’t care if I have to pay triple. I will NEVER fly frontier again. It’s almost 2023. There’s no charging ports, no Wi-Fi, no entertainment at all. The seats suck. Everything sucks. This is a 4 hour flight unfortunately and I am anticipating the misery. Then I have a layover and another 2...
Currently on a frontier flight right now and if I could get off and fly with a different airline, I would. I don’t care if I have to pay triple. I will NEVER fly frontier again. It’s almost 2023. There’s no charging ports, no Wi-Fi, no entertainment at all. The seats suck. Everything sucks. This is a 4 hour flight unfortunately and I am anticipating the misery. Then I have a layover and another 2 hour flight. Frontier isn’t even that cheap. After all the extra fees, it’s pretty much the same cost as any other airline but sadly I couldn’t find any other departure times that worked for us. This is a one time thing and frontier will never happen again for me.
Yes, the nickel and diming for carry-ons and checked luggage and other miscellaneous fees, it's ridiculous.
Flight from stl to orlando was good staff professional and accommodating. The boarding staff on the return trip were amazingly rude and completely detached and forcing all zone 3 customers to place their hand bags in their sizing basket which is inches smaller than any other carrier.. many customers were forced to pay 100$ per hand bag for a strap not fitting in etc…
Not a good feeling at all.
Frontier is a like a buy here pay here car dealership, they are a rip-off. The boarding agents are something to behold, Loud and rude. There is always something wrong with boarding,size check your carrying on in Orlando and "I am not sure to tell as to why you paid for a ticket and get on the plane", in Atlanta. BUT YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR, (NOTHING FROM NOTHING, LEAVES. N O T H I N G!!!!!)
My experience with Frontier Airlines was more brief. Due to them cancelling my flight for no stated reason, I was given the option of a refund or a two day wait for my return home to the San Francisco Bay area from Minneapolis. My refund was $83. I asked the agent why the company doesn't just go out of business if they can not keep their planes flying. She just shrugged.
The next available...
My experience with Frontier Airlines was more brief. Due to them cancelling my flight for no stated reason, I was given the option of a refund or a two day wait for my return home to the San Francisco Bay area from Minneapolis. My refund was $83. I asked the agent why the company doesn't just go out of business if they can not keep their planes flying. She just shrugged.
The next available one way ticket on Delta cost me over $600. While the return flight on Delta was non-stop vs the 1 stop return flight via Frontier, I still felt cheated by Frontier who had agreed to fly me home and then bailed. I spent an additional 6 hours at the airport and a total of 4 times going through security check points. I had to ride the light rail twice and the team twice going between terminals. I must have walked 5 miles through corridors, riding escalators and elevators winding through the maze at the Minneapolis airport. All due to a Frontier flight cancellation. What an unpleasant and stressful way to end my vacation.
Frontier charged me $99 because they decided my personal item was a carryon. No one spoke to me at the gate, no one asked me to put my item in the sizer. The charge just appeared on my credit card. I've been in touch with customer service all the way to the executive level. They refuse to refund the money. They claimed my personal item didn't fit fully in the sizer....but they never asked me...
Frontier charged me $99 because they decided my personal item was a carryon. No one spoke to me at the gate, no one asked me to put my item in the sizer. The charge just appeared on my credit card. I've been in touch with customer service all the way to the executive level. They refuse to refund the money. They claimed my personal item didn't fit fully in the sizer....but they never asked me to put it in the sizer. I will not fly Frontier again...it's a matter of principle.
Dispute the charge with your CC company.
I've heard several credit card companies are very familiar with Frontier's sleazy tactics and will easily dispute this charge with them.
BEWARE! as of October 15, 2022 Frontier is not making ANY exceptions for being over the limit for a personal item. They are now checking the size of EVERY bag prior to boarding. I flew in six different cities and witnessed them try to extort $100 from almost everyone. If you did not pay up they would not let you on. I was denied boarding twice and had to buy a new ticket. Bags were...
BEWARE! as of October 15, 2022 Frontier is not making ANY exceptions for being over the limit for a personal item. They are now checking the size of EVERY bag prior to boarding. I flew in six different cities and witnessed them try to extort $100 from almost everyone. If you did not pay up they would not let you on. I was denied boarding twice and had to buy a new ticket. Bags were denied if they are not 18x14x8 period. You are not allowed to squeeze it to get it to fit in the sizer. no wheels or retractable handles. no shoes, coats, or computers can be hanging or attached. There is a laundry list of reasons that, are not listed on their vague baggage policy. You might get by in one city but they will catch you on the next. They offer low fares and then extort money at the gate. They overbook and know some can't cough up the 100 so it works well, they don't have to compensate you.
Just beware these folks don't care if you are old, have babies, are on your honeymoon, or going to a funeral. They want money. Well, Frontier, you have ticked customers off and they will not return. I can go to Southwest and pay less to take bags AND get great customer service. Honestly, it's junk service, the only plus was low fares, charging $100 for a suitcase is outrageous. You will blackmail someone once, but that will be it. Hope bankruptcy for you happens soon.
I agree with every single thing you said thanks
Agreed! Ordered to pay $89 for a bag 18"x14"x8" which is the stated permissible size and it must fit under the seat. Be warned: even with right size bag, it must slide "unaided" into a box at the gate. Nevermind that you must accept their word the dimensions are correct. Nothing beyond bag dimensions and fitting under the seat is list in the personal item requirements online. So, bring a tape measure and $89 just...
Agreed! Ordered to pay $89 for a bag 18"x14"x8" which is the stated permissible size and it must fit under the seat. Be warned: even with right size bag, it must slide "unaided" into a box at the gate. Nevermind that you must accept their word the dimensions are correct. Nothing beyond bag dimensions and fitting under the seat is list in the personal item requirements online. So, bring a tape measure and $89 just in case. Or just fly a different airline which I'll do in the future.
I have flown Frontier twice in the past 12 months. After the last time (RT ATL to DEN), my spouse and I decided never again. With all of the add-ons, it costs more than Delta and it basically feels like taking a city bus through Harlem. Currently, you can't even check in with a human without an additional fee. Also, the staff made us feel like criminals in that we all had to "size-check" even...
I have flown Frontier twice in the past 12 months. After the last time (RT ATL to DEN), my spouse and I decided never again. With all of the add-ons, it costs more than Delta and it basically feels like taking a city bus through Harlem. Currently, you can't even check in with a human without an additional fee. Also, the staff made us feel like criminals in that we all had to "size-check" even the smallest of personal items in DEN--taking us off of the ramp to check a 2 lb bag in their "size-check" area.
Everyone should just find a conventional airline and hope that they do not "go green" (LOL).
The good (for me, anyway):
The price is half the other airlines, sometimes almost a third less....
I travel light, so I never pay extra for bags, nor for picking a seat.
I don't think I've ever witnessed the barefoot thing.
I've barely ever been delayed by that much, thus far.
The bad:
After an hour, being a decently tall person, my back and butt start to hurt pretty darn bad, from the...
The good (for me, anyway):
The price is half the other airlines, sometimes almost a third less....
I travel light, so I never pay extra for bags, nor for picking a seat.
I don't think I've ever witnessed the barefoot thing.
I've barely ever been delayed by that much, thus far.
The bad:
After an hour, being a decently tall person, my back and butt start to hurt pretty darn bad, from the seats and tightness. I start to squirm around, move my little pillow around, etc, and nothing seems to help all that much.
All in all, its decent.
I really try to avoid it if it's long or connecting, due to the seats, but the pricing is certainly always enticing!
They have changed all of workers to full time salesmen..they changed their title to reflect so..their goal is to extract as much money from the customer as possible. Paid for a bundle before hand the salesperson tried to make me purchase luggage accommodations again because neither did she or her manager knew what the packages consist of they just gave the number to corporate to get a refund..it was a early flight 9 am corporate...
They have changed all of workers to full time salesmen..they changed their title to reflect so..their goal is to extract as much money from the customer as possible. Paid for a bundle before hand the salesperson tried to make me purchase luggage accommodations again because neither did she or her manager knew what the packages consist of they just gave the number to corporate to get a refund..it was a early flight 9 am corporate was in a different time zone and they wasn't open yet I wondered why the manager had a smug look when she gave it me. When I went into my checking status again it showed the packages and what they consisted of I showed them they just checked the luggage in with no apology for trying to make me seem I didn't know what I was talking about.
Always delayed flights. Ridiculous
So you thought the flight was too expensive and wish it were cheaper. But it’s so incredibly cheap already that you’re disgusted by the people who can afford it, presumably because the threshold for entry has been set too low. Yes I agree then, Frontier should dramatically raise the fares because they are flying the newest fleet of airplanes of any airline and eventually you and your fellow passengers who would then complain that it’s...
So you thought the flight was too expensive and wish it were cheaper. But it’s so incredibly cheap already that you’re disgusted by the people who can afford it, presumably because the threshold for entry has been set too low. Yes I agree then, Frontier should dramatically raise the fares because they are flying the newest fleet of airplanes of any airline and eventually you and your fellow passengers who would then complain that it’s too expensive, might stay home and thereby not ruin the experience for those of us who have to fly very regularly.
Ok got it. Too expensive and not expensive enough. I think frontier will do just fine. There was a time when they had the best service, the most luxurious seats, free direct TV, free warm cookies and coffee as you boarded, and guess what… they were going bankrupt because there weren’t enough classy customers to support that model. So now there’s a different price structure and seats are full and the airline is working as a business. What people say isn’t nearly as important as what they do.
I'm sitting here in Atl at the Frontier gate #2, was supposed to board my flight at 1:39 depart at 2:46. It is now 3:39. The plane is here but there is no crew. So we are waiting for a crew. If I had not had a family emergency, and had to buy a ticket at the last min. I would not have chosen Frontier. I swear I will never fly this airline again. Emergency...
I'm sitting here in Atl at the Frontier gate #2, was supposed to board my flight at 1:39 depart at 2:46. It is now 3:39. The plane is here but there is no crew. So we are waiting for a crew. If I had not had a family emergency, and had to buy a ticket at the last min. I would not have chosen Frontier. I swear I will never fly this airline again. Emergency or not. I'll just pay the higher price. This is crap. My son having surgery, I was trying to get there to be with him. This sucks.
Sorry Ben, but you really are showing what a snob you are!
Just got off my Frontier flight from Portland, Maine. Gotta say your review was way, way off the mark and very unfair to Froniter. It was a bad flight - but does that mean the airline should "be avoided." Your reviews mean a lot - and that is the kiss of death. Yes the plane interiors could use some work. But you can't blame the airline for their passengers. And are you really saying because...
Just got off my Frontier flight from Portland, Maine. Gotta say your review was way, way off the mark and very unfair to Froniter. It was a bad flight - but does that mean the airline should "be avoided." Your reviews mean a lot - and that is the kiss of death. Yes the plane interiors could use some work. But you can't blame the airline for their passengers. And are you really saying because you don't like their signs about 'going green' and paying for overhead before you get to the gate that the airline should be avoided. And come on, a bad crew or gate agent is just that - a bad crew/gate agent. That is not fair at all to give your "be avoided" review to them because of that. My journeys with them have been fine. You have to pay fees, etc. but that is part of flying a low cost airline. I have had much worse flights on American. And as a bonus - since there is a charge for overhead space, the overhead bins are usually pretty free. Imagine that?
Las Vegas to Minneapolis was pretty gross crowd. Everyone trying to take better empty seats before takeoff and stewards trying to wrangle them back to assigned seat. Rude, pushing way up to door after landing at gate etc.
It really amazes Me that so many people cannot comprehend the idea of UltraLowCost Carriers......they streamline the pricing (Pay as you need) and yet there are people that have false expectations of EXCEPTIONS to the Rules to accommodate your requests. Comparing FRONTIER to AA or Delta is foolish on the part of the consumer and that game needs to end. ULTRA defines their model.....that is is their business model. If you want perks look elsewhere.
At least you can get free water from a bottle not the gross tank like spirit!
Agree 100% I have flown Frontier about a dozen times, usually TPA-PHX, or PHX-TPA with a layover in DEN, COS, or CLE. A lot of routes have this customer base with Frontier and Spirit. I still think Spirit over Frontier due to the Big Front seat, and a better maintained interior. I too actually long for AA after a Frontier flight. Thats absurd!
Your flight operated on time with the promised amenities. The constituency of your fellow passengers is not something that the airline makes any promise regarding.
The rest is rank classism/elitism.
You're blaming Frontier for its passengers? Garbage article. I think Frontier > Spirit
What other major US Airlines are you missing
There’s Allegiant Air
Avelo or Breeze and Sun Country
Can you please review these airlines for us
Your blog readers that would be great and very useful and valuable
@ stlsch02 -- Yep, I hope to review those airlines in the coming weeks & months, stay tuned!
I have flown on Frontier for many years and have never experienced any of this. Actually, most of his complaints were with Customers NOT the staff! Get a grip … welcome to America. Don’t blame a company or judge a company by a few obnoxious customers. They are everywhere!
I’m a list guy so I keep track of all my airline adventures. I’ve flown Frontier 128 times and believe you were pretty unluckily on this one. Have I witness some stuff on Frontier flights? I suppose. But I also just care more about safely getting to my destination, which outside of 3 cancellations, has happened 128 times. Because I fly them so often, I also get free baggage and seat selection, which I believe...
I’m a list guy so I keep track of all my airline adventures. I’ve flown Frontier 128 times and believe you were pretty unluckily on this one. Have I witness some stuff on Frontier flights? I suppose. But I also just care more about safely getting to my destination, which outside of 3 cancellations, has happened 128 times. Because I fly them so often, I also get free baggage and seat selection, which I believe are amongst the easiest perks to achieve on an ULCC (comparing to Spirit and Allegiant).
Frontier works best when they fly frequently from your home airport. If you familiarize yourself with their business model and take advantage of their perks then they really aren’t far from economy/basic economy on many other airlines. And yes, I’ve flown economy plenty times on other airlines.
This writer is an exact mirror image of those passengers! First, you can't hold Frontier accountable for who flies with them. Second, why do you expect Frontier to charge your device for free? Third, Frontier messaging consistently speaks to fuel efficiency by offering "basic" accommodation...if you want old school ideas pushing the luxurious flying experience then book with a major...please keep your entitled arrogant self of off Frontier. Thanks!
To be fair, author was commenting on the overall experience, and fellow passengers are part of that.
But I don’t disagree with you about the rest.
Wow! The carefully concealed snobbery and elitism of many readers has been given full release by Ben. I've not flown an ULLC. But neither have I gone out of my way to insult another human being who does. Unlike all you pathetic and insecure snobs! Methinks you're all just only one wrung up on the social ladder from these pax; hence the hatred. Because they remind you all from whence you came!
OMG this piece needs a literal trigger warning with a Samaritans phone number. The bathroom barefoot was horrid enough but then to put pee soaked foot on arm rest in front?! Shudder. I regularly travel Ryanair (ok I only really do if they’re the best schedule or non stop option) but I’ve found them perfect on most destinations. However it seems purely leisure travellers overwhelmingly choose LCCs and ULCCs but then refuse to engage with...
OMG this piece needs a literal trigger warning with a Samaritans phone number. The bathroom barefoot was horrid enough but then to put pee soaked foot on arm rest in front?! Shudder. I regularly travel Ryanair (ok I only really do if they’re the best schedule or non stop option) but I’ve found them perfect on most destinations. However it seems purely leisure travellers overwhelmingly choose LCCs and ULCCs but then refuse to engage with the fee structure. It’s the only problem I have on these carriers. On most pure leisure routes Crew seem to have to choose between managing multiple belligerent passengers, leaving on time, and the drama of involving police.
This all sounds a little elitist. Of course F9 customers are on the bottom of the barrel, but do you realize AA has its own set of hijinks waiting for you? I find their staff to be cold and unhelpful. Some Eagle flight attendants are just plain rude. Many of the RJs they put you on are old and tired. Gate agents yell at you if your bag looks “too full”, and the pitch on...
This all sounds a little elitist. Of course F9 customers are on the bottom of the barrel, but do you realize AA has its own set of hijinks waiting for you? I find their staff to be cold and unhelpful. Some Eagle flight attendants are just plain rude. Many of the RJs they put you on are old and tired. Gate agents yell at you if your bag looks “too full”, and the pitch on AA aircraft is miserly as well. I’d rather put up with the great shoeless than airline workers who are nasty to me. Just a preference.
I flew frontier and witnessed people on the floor in the isle way taking naps - wtf !?! Also the staff wore No uniforms and they sat behind the counter watching tik tok. Videos while we waited to board the plane . I agree that it was chaotic when plane loading came , everyone seemed impatient and extra pushy to get on , and getting off the plane was even worse , there are always...
I flew frontier and witnessed people on the floor in the isle way taking naps - wtf !?! Also the staff wore No uniforms and they sat behind the counter watching tik tok. Videos while we waited to board the plane . I agree that it was chaotic when plane loading came , everyone seemed impatient and extra pushy to get on , and getting off the plane was even worse , there are always those people who stand up and walk to the front but it was down right a joke trying to get off . I won’t fly with them again .
It’s the worst! Only fly when it’s the only nonstop available.
@Lucky
It's probably an isolated incident, you were very unlucky.
"Then there was the guy who repeatedly tried to go into the bathroom (barefoot) with a big bag of stuff."
I do fly Frontier and other ULCC and I can assure you, I've never seen a hobo on any of them ever.
TSA probably seized his supermarket cart.
Or was it JetBlue trying to sabotaging the merger.
It looked like he had a phone charger in his bag of stuff. Maybe he wanted to charge his phone.
I've flown with Frontier from the New Jersey area (Trenton mercer and Philadelphia airports) for years now, and honestly, outside of one delay that wasn't their fault, I always had a great experience.
My routes have always been to Florida, a much coveted vacation route, and everyone seemed pretty decent on the plane, nothing gross or unnatural for a normal domestic flight , and mind you I've been flying for over 40 years, so I've...
I've flown with Frontier from the New Jersey area (Trenton mercer and Philadelphia airports) for years now, and honestly, outside of one delay that wasn't their fault, I always had a great experience.
My routes have always been to Florida, a much coveted vacation route, and everyone seemed pretty decent on the plane, nothing gross or unnatural for a normal domestic flight , and mind you I've been flying for over 40 years, so I've seen a lot! People taking their shoes off to relax on the flight is pretty normal, especially longer flights, but I get it, I don't care for that either, but is usually without interfering with enjoying the trip. I've fortunately not ever experienced a rowdy passenger, and everyone kept to themselves. There's always going to be some noise, whether a baby crying, etc, and occasionally the kid behind you kicking your seat. That's just the nature of flying on any airline, and I've flown the majority of them, even Qantas!
As for the signage, you must have had a lot of free time to even notice them! They're usually part of the blurred scenery as I'm deadlocked to get into the TSA line, to the shop to grab a bite and to board the plane. I'm sure they' are around and about, but if you move at my pace, they are barely noticeable. I guess being more eco friendly isn't a bad thing.
As for the comfort of the plane, I'm pretty tall, 6'2", and even in coach, Frontier seats are far enough apart that my legs have space. Sure, the seats are thinner than the old school cushion seats, but aren't terrible. They generally recline, but it sounds like you sat in a row that doesn't have that option - usually last row and the row in front of the wing emergency exit don't have that option. Granted they don't recline as much as the top 4 airlines, but they do a little.
Knowing the plane model before you fly can help you research the best seats on the plane. Lately, flying with 2 kids, I don't even pay to choose a seat, as families are often grouped together at the rear of the plane, just got to make sure to check in as early as Frontier will allow you to. For a family of 4, that's $160 saved. We check our bags and bring no carry ons except a personal item, like medium sized backpacks.
There's definitely a way to fly Frontier and enjoy it, you just have to learn their system to maximize your value. Personally, I love flying with Frontier.
When everyone knows the system, and is ok with paying the fees wherever they need to deviate, carriers like this are absolutely fantastic.
I flew frontier lots of times last year mostly out of Philly or Baltimore and it’s always been ok. I noticed from last year to this year the prices of extras have gone up dramatically. Before only 3 months ago I flew from Phoenix to Baltimore through Denver, the flight was $70 plus $54 for perks bundle. That flight is WAY less then what any other carrier was offering mainly southwest that has a nonstop...
I flew frontier lots of times last year mostly out of Philly or Baltimore and it’s always been ok. I noticed from last year to this year the prices of extras have gone up dramatically. Before only 3 months ago I flew from Phoenix to Baltimore through Denver, the flight was $70 plus $54 for perks bundle. That flight is WAY less then what any other carrier was offering mainly southwest that has a nonstop flight on that route which was $299 for that flight. Since then I flew down to Florida recently out of Philly and I noticed the ridiculous prices they’re charging for the same bundle I got for $70 there mouths ago. I also think your flight was just unlucky but at Philadelphia lots of people come in robes to fly and wear pajama slippers. But all around Frontier is a good airline on my last flight I flew to Fort Myers, we landed in a storm, when we landed the crew said due to Lightning we were going to sit on the airplane Intil the storm dissipates. That was 2 hours but the crew were very professional and handed out snacks and water. About 1 hour after the flight got to the gate and we all deplaned I got an email with a $75 voucher for having to sit on the plane for two hours on the ground. I paid $80 for the flight so basically my the flight was free for me. I think what ruins frontier for a lot of people is that the prices for bags and the awful people that are on some flights. Sometimes I feel like it’s the wild Wild West on the plane because on a few of the Frontier Flights I was on there were flights that broke out and it got ugly. In the end I think it’s an airline for people that want to take a vacation but don’t need Wi-Fi or good seats they just want a cheep ticket and to get to point a to point b with out cancellations or delays. Out of the 20 frontier flights I attended in the last 2 years I can say there was never a cancellation.
Sounds like the same as New York subway, pee, disturbing, and passenger’s behaviors.
I think Frontier is quite a fit serving New York City residents.
We flew from SEA to DEN on a red-eye. The two rows behind us had a loud party going the entire flight. No one intervened. No one slept either.
And their free carry-on space under the seat in front was so small, my SLR didn't fit. Never again.
I usually go barefoot to the toilet when flying Frontier. As they say, when in Rome...
I have been on a United airlines flight international flight where the bathroom was a total disaster I've been to fine hotels in Las Vegas New York City San Francisco etc etc and use their bathrooms and they were disasters you cannot base your review of a company or your thoughts of a company on their bathroom. There is a convenience store called QuikTrip it's the best convenience store in the world in my opinion...
I have been on a United airlines flight international flight where the bathroom was a total disaster I've been to fine hotels in Las Vegas New York City San Francisco etc etc and use their bathrooms and they were disasters you cannot base your review of a company or your thoughts of a company on their bathroom. There is a convenience store called QuikTrip it's the best convenience store in the world in my opinion it's in the Midwest and their bathrooms are a disaster the rest of the store is spotless if that tells you anything
I agree that QuikTrip is the best convenience store in the world - and also that their bathrooms (at least here in Wisconsin) are consistently clean. On road trips, I make all my bathroom stops at QuikTrip, even if the next one isn't for 20-30 miles away, because of the expectation of the bathroom being clean. They even have a light switch that can be flipped on to alert the store employees that the bathroom...
I agree that QuikTrip is the best convenience store in the world - and also that their bathrooms (at least here in Wisconsin) are consistently clean. On road trips, I make all my bathroom stops at QuikTrip, even if the next one isn't for 20-30 miles away, because of the expectation of the bathroom being clean. They even have a light switch that can be flipped on to alert the store employees that the bathroom needs attention. No conflict of interest, I make it a point not to get their rewards card (I get too many unhealthy snacks on road trips as it is) and don't even buy their fuel (CostCo!) - but QuikTrip in WI is what Wawa in FL wishes it was.
Ben you are a princess this smacks of elitism classism and all of those other isms or rather a lot of those other isms. One of those isms is that this smacks of I'm better than the frontier customer just because you fly first class someplace and stay in a fancy hotel doesn't make you better than somebody else you are no better or no worse than the person next to you the same as...
Ben you are a princess this smacks of elitism classism and all of those other isms or rather a lot of those other isms. One of those isms is that this smacks of I'm better than the frontier customer just because you fly first class someplace and stay in a fancy hotel doesn't make you better than somebody else you are no better or no worse than the person next to you the same as everyone else just because you have money doesn't mean you are a better person
What I get from you is that you're very spoiled and that you are a princess
I have flown them several times from TTN. I have found their staff very friendly and professional. I found their seats more comfortable than flight on United. I have no issues flying them. Their prices have been cheaper than the other airlines even once you add the perks.
So it's like Ryanair?
These carriers are like the greyhound of the skies. While I've never flown Frontier, I've taken Spirit quite a few times (and ridden greyhound quite a few times). The key is to understand what you are getting into. This is travel for people who likely wouldn't otherwise be able to afford travel, and these airlines make a mint while the likes of AA can barely stay in business. When I fly Spirit (or take greyhound),...
These carriers are like the greyhound of the skies. While I've never flown Frontier, I've taken Spirit quite a few times (and ridden greyhound quite a few times). The key is to understand what you are getting into. This is travel for people who likely wouldn't otherwise be able to afford travel, and these airlines make a mint while the likes of AA can barely stay in business. When I fly Spirit (or take greyhound), I consider it a success if I get to my destination safely and close to the expected time. If my fellow passengers behave well and avoid peeing all over the bathroom, then we are definitely in gold star territory. I challenge anyone to tell me why the Big Front Seat is worse than AA domestic "first" class.
We flew Frontier out of Trenton, NJ last year, destination Myrtle Beach. My complaints; terminal is too small for the number of passengers they try to handle, and yes, some of the clientele is dumb as rocks. A specific incident we encountered was as the arriving jet was pulling to the gate (no jetway, tarmac entrance), apparently someone mispositioned an orange cone and it was sucked into an engine. WTF?! So that took that plane...
We flew Frontier out of Trenton, NJ last year, destination Myrtle Beach. My complaints; terminal is too small for the number of passengers they try to handle, and yes, some of the clientele is dumb as rocks. A specific incident we encountered was as the arriving jet was pulling to the gate (no jetway, tarmac entrance), apparently someone mispositioned an orange cone and it was sucked into an engine. WTF?! So that took that plane out of commission and we were told our flight was cancelled. As we were waiting for our bags to be returned, someone said that the flight was back on! Sure enough another plane inbound was given our route. Once onboard, we were seated behind an unruly obnoxious group who had way to much to drink as they waited for the flight. I was getting very concerned that it was getting out of hand, so I spoke to the flight attendant. The gentleman handled the situation perfectly! I made a point of sending a note to Frontier to compliment his manner and tact in defusing a potentially difficult situation. We plan to fly Frontier again in a couple weeks. Fingers crossed.
I think you are spot on . Yes many times it is the routes but I worked for this Airline for 25 years and finally had to say no more and gave up all my seniority which is a huge deal in this industry. The bathrooms are never cleaned ( maybe once a day but for sure not more than that ) I don’t want to repeat what you said because you are 100% correct . Personally I don’t fly on them and I can for free . ( plus Tax )
Frontier really is a whole different animal, isn’t it? Sounds like they took the “nature” theme a step further and allowed their lavatories to resemble the disgusting solo restrooms with vault toilets that you’d find in places like hiking trails and national parks. You see these apes crawling in and out of the lavatories (because they obviously go barefoot). I was genuinely surprised when you said this was an A320neo.
I've flown round-trip from Vegas to Salt Lake multiple times and always had a great experience, nothing at all as you described. In fact, almost nothing you wrote resonated.
That toilet is nasty..but what did you do if you needed to pee?
Frontier is Awful ! I would never fly them again. You didn't mention the flight insurance offered by Frontier, a total waste of money. I had the insurance and a doctors note indicating I couldn't fly , Frontier made it impossible to file a claim for reimbursement. Avoid this airline , even if driving is the only option.
Being based in DEN, I fly them fairly often, as they serve some routes nobody else does. I find them very hit or miss and, unsurprisingly, the quality of the other passengers is usually more about destination than anything.
Truth be told, there's a few destinations, Florida, the Gulf Coast, Vegas, etc, where the passengers can be expected to be pretty bad regardless of the carrier.
Different airlines for different tastes, standards and budgets. That is the beauty of our capitalist system. SW is the lowest I will go, and lately they have been testing my patience and ability to endure poor and unreliable service. To each their own.
Thank you for this article! I've flown frontier and I remember telling my husband I really didn't want to fly on it unless we absolutely needed to. While you were aware of the seat situation, I wasn't. I hated the rock hard seats. My body hurt after the 4 hours! Also, I couldn't bring myself to use the restroom! It was filthy.
I agree with several comments about you being borderline offensive. The comments about why you disliked the airline has nothing to do with the service, the soft product, or the hard product. The comments have to do what you think of the other passengers. You should have had relatively lower expectations going into it because it is considered a "low cost" airline, although not cheap. Even back in the day when JetBlue was considered low...
I agree with several comments about you being borderline offensive. The comments about why you disliked the airline has nothing to do with the service, the soft product, or the hard product. The comments have to do what you think of the other passengers. You should have had relatively lower expectations going into it because it is considered a "low cost" airline, although not cheap. Even back in the day when JetBlue was considered low cost it was never "cheap." Further, the legacy carriers also have bins to have suitcases measured, etc.
The credit card airline incidental credits could have come in handy here because most will reimburse for seat upgrades and bag fees.
Thanks for sharing. Regardless of the subject & personal views we each take what it is worth to us. I will likely not fly Frontier given the review.
Yes, my first time e was my last time on this airlines. I'm too old for a hostel experience in mid air. I will pay more to not experience this.
I recently had a horrible experience with Frontier! We chose our flight because it was a nonstop flight as well. However, disappointment began right away! Our trip was for a niece's wedding, family reunion and gender reveal. We bought our tickets three months before the trip. A month before, we were contacted that our flight was canceled and our only option was a flight that was 5 hours earlier on the same day. It doesn't...
I recently had a horrible experience with Frontier! We chose our flight because it was a nonstop flight as well. However, disappointment began right away! Our trip was for a niece's wedding, family reunion and gender reveal. We bought our tickets three months before the trip. A month before, we were contacted that our flight was canceled and our only option was a flight that was 5 hours earlier on the same day. It doesn't sound like a big deal but we live 3 hours away from this airport! We agreed to this flight. A day before our flight we were notified that we needed to pay for our carry on and or luggage... Apparently, we did not read the final print and thought the carry on was included. We decided to pay for a check in bag instead of two carry ons... (210.00 more) Anyway, the day of, we traveled 3 hours, checked in our luggage and granddaughter's car seat. We did have a delay in security but tried to get to the gate as quick as we could... 5 minutes late. We were told we would not be boarding because we were late. There were no more flights going to that airport for five more days. After we realized that we were going to miss the everything, we asked about getting our luggage and car seat. We were told that our luggage and car seat were on the plane and could not be taken off! It was a NIGHTMARE! How would we leave the airport without a car seat for our 2 year old granddaughter? We had to leave my daughter and granddaughter and buy another one! SO FRUSTRATING! To make a long story short... We drove back to our house (three hours away) and did not receive our luggage until 8 days later. It was RIDICULOUS! Everyone I spoke to recited protocols and gave NO sympathy, understanding or HELP to our plight! I WILL NOT give Frontier another chance. Not only did we miss our family celebrations but this trip we didn't take cost us an arm and a leg! Think twice about using this airline!
This is spot on, the reason we subscribe to this blog -- a detailed, reasoned, yet personal and first-hand assessment of an airline flight. And yes, we sympathize with the collection of obnoxious and curious behaviors you witnessed on this hopefully unusual flight. We appreciate your precise recollection, and hope Frontier management sees this blog.
Frontier used to be decent, I used to fly with frontier from California Out of Santa Maria and or Santa Barbara nonstop to Denver Or to Las Vegas and it was always MD80 series jets and the planes were comfortable those planes did have entertainment systems and they did have charging ports and etc. I flew from about 2005-2009 on frontier probably 100 times and never had issues and flight crew were friendly and always...
Frontier used to be decent, I used to fly with frontier from California Out of Santa Maria and or Santa Barbara nonstop to Denver Or to Las Vegas and it was always MD80 series jets and the planes were comfortable those planes did have entertainment systems and they did have charging ports and etc. I flew from about 2005-2009 on frontier probably 100 times and never had issues and flight crew were friendly and always helpful and you got meals on the Denver flights and drinks and etc.
Lately the only airline I’ve flown in the last 4 years has been United which has been great when I buy business class. My grandpa flew business class on a united 757 to Houston and had the entirety of business to himself and got meals and wine and the works from the flight attendants and said it was the best service he has had from an airline in about 50 years of flying. And he’s flown on stuff like Concorde back in the day with his brother.
First time flying Frontier was in May of this year won't fly again. Heading back from Puerto Rico to Atlanta. Let's just say my flight was late, the crew wasn't friendly, we sat on the tarmat for 30 minutes after our departure time and sat another 30 minutes at the arrival gate. They made myself and my sister feel singled as they claimed the flight was overbooked then walked up to our row and said...
First time flying Frontier was in May of this year won't fly again. Heading back from Puerto Rico to Atlanta. Let's just say my flight was late, the crew wasn't friendly, we sat on the tarmat for 30 minutes after our departure time and sat another 30 minutes at the arrival gate. They made myself and my sister feel singled as they claimed the flight was overbooked then walked up to our row and said "Here" then asked us to come with them( we didn't called corporate right then and there). All in all I will not fly frontier again I will pay the extra for Delta.
I flew from Phoenix to San Francisco on them- no problems at all. My expectations were zero though. I almost always fly coach so the experience was normal
Wow, this article was absolutely worthless. I am wondering if the author has ever shopped at Wal-Mart for the value and convenience. If he has, then he is a hypocrite, for disparaging a service industry because of the people that they provide service to.
Your opinion is absolutely worthless. I assume he described you and it touched a nerve?
I booked a round trip flight on frontier in May to Vegas but had to cancel a week later 10 days before my flight.
I went through Orbitz, bought flight insurance and figured I would lose a cancellation fee and get flight credit for the rest.
Found out Orbitz had a disclaimer about frontier being a low fare airline so any claim or credit was to be done directly with frontier.
So I had purchased...
I booked a round trip flight on frontier in May to Vegas but had to cancel a week later 10 days before my flight.
I went through Orbitz, bought flight insurance and figured I would lose a cancellation fee and get flight credit for the rest.
Found out Orbitz had a disclaimer about frontier being a low fare airline so any claim or credit was to be done directly with frontier.
So I had purchased their insurance and it wasn't valid.
Bad enough, then I talked to frontier and found out my cancellation fee was 90 percent of my purchase.
I have a 39 dollar credit but I will not ever use this airline.
I am so happy that after reading this review that I did not pay the $49 processing fee from their promotion to get Elite 100K.
I did, and it made my only flight on Frontier this year almost pleasant. Well worth it, even for one trip.
Frontier made me lose 2 days of vacation. Their staff has lack of organization. There were three different flights being checked by one person. When my time came to check in, they told me I missed the flight and they already made the last calls for it. Did not hear anything over the speakers or someone shout about it. Was flying from PHL to FLL
" I also find it kind of obnoxious how Frontier makes everything about the environment."
The reason they do it is because there are a lot of gullible people who think we have the ability to change the climate and environment.
I think patronizing is quite apt. One bag drop person behaved like she was doing me a favor. I did pay an arm and leg for my seat so am not sure why she thought as a low cost carrier, i should feel endebted to her that I could fly. The stewardesses were ok.
Did anyone spill their energy drink on you? "my bad, dude" Did anyone fart loudly in that bathroom line? "ha ha, dude" Did anyone have a drug induced panic attack? "I'm freaking out, dude!" If not, I am thinking it was a good flight. My now sober nephew (thank god) flew Frontier out of Denver to visit home and he tells me he was high or drunk on every single flight if that tells you anything.
hoping JetBlue gets Spirit BTW.
As my English friend often says: the peasants are revolting!
Back in 2017, my partner and I flew TPA-LAS-TPA on Frontier. I am a former F/A (Pan Am) and Corp travel manager who has traveled the globe. I THOUGHT I knew what to expect. OMG. The incredible tightness and discomfort of the seat and the absolute lack of even pretending an inflight service. NO. Life is too short. And AA is REAL close to F9. I fly DL prem y just because, well life's to short. I hear you Ben !
Moving from FLL to AVL I was ecstatic to find Allegiant had a lot of non stop flights between cities. On paper its great! I thought Allegiant was the best- then the more I flew them the more cancellations I started to experience... Like many before me, I discovered they've been cancelling way before cancelling was cool- Any initial cost savings realized was vaporized after schlepping down to DL/AA to buy a o/w walk up...
Moving from FLL to AVL I was ecstatic to find Allegiant had a lot of non stop flights between cities. On paper its great! I thought Allegiant was the best- then the more I flew them the more cancellations I started to experience... Like many before me, I discovered they've been cancelling way before cancelling was cool- Any initial cost savings realized was vaporized after schlepping down to DL/AA to buy a o/w walk up fare because they couldn't get me there for 2 or3 days. I won't even use the accumulated points on their BOA Visa for a FREE trip. If the choice is Allegiant or my car, I hit the road. Add Frontier to the list!
I’m kind of with Ben here
And I thought it was funny with Eagle and customer base as quite a few seem like they were raised in a barn with bird flocks and animals behavior wise on average
Truthfully I’ve never flown them but just watching the gate areas at airports and their check in counters make me think this isn’t the airline for me.I’m also convinced they will find a way to...
I’m kind of with Ben here
And I thought it was funny with Eagle and customer base as quite a few seem like they were raised in a barn with bird flocks and animals behavior wise on average
Truthfully I’ve never flown them but just watching the gate areas at airports and their check in counters make me think this isn’t the airline for me.I’m also convinced they will find a way to massively rip me off from their corrupt gotcha fees.I once put a family member on them and still have guilt
We may have crossed paths yesterday. I was coming inbound on AA from PHL. Unfortunately, AA is permanently ending all ISP service on Sept. 7th due to pilot shortage, leaving only Southwest, Breeze, and Frontier. Finally time to ditch AA status and go for Delta out of JFK and LGA.
Given the choice of a nonstop on an ULCC or a connection on a legacy airline, I’ll take the connection every time, without hesitation. Wi-Fi, lounge access and clean lavatories are important. I can make use of the extra time involved as long as I have Wi-Fi.
But he most important question Lucky, did you tip the FA on your drink order?
Flew Frontier for the first time yesterday as well from RDU to BUF as it was also direct and just got best time wise.
I did their status match at the end of 2022 and got 100K status so the add on for bags etc was not an issue. Ticket was $89.
Our flight and the flight crew were great despite a 25 min delay taking off due to some weather in the...
Flew Frontier for the first time yesterday as well from RDU to BUF as it was also direct and just got best time wise.
I did their status match at the end of 2022 and got 100K status so the add on for bags etc was not an issue. Ticket was $89.
Our flight and the flight crew were great despite a 25 min delay taking off due to some weather in the RDU area I presume.
Crew was also very patient and accommodating to some rather demanding passengers prior to take off on wanting to change seats etc.
Didn’t use the bathroom but generally our plane was clean, but your comment on the hard seats is spot on.
I fly frontier to Florida fairly frequently. Do I love it? No, but it is better than Allegiant and can get me from upstate NY to Tampa, Miami, or Fort Lauderdale without any stops.
If other airlines even tried to compete on direct routes, I’d fly them….but they don’t. I can handle sitting in the Greyhound of the Skies for 3 hours if it saves me 3 hours of time on a layover.
...I fly frontier to Florida fairly frequently. Do I love it? No, but it is better than Allegiant and can get me from upstate NY to Tampa, Miami, or Fort Lauderdale without any stops.
If other airlines even tried to compete on direct routes, I’d fly them….but they don’t. I can handle sitting in the Greyhound of the Skies for 3 hours if it saves me 3 hours of time on a layover.
Agree on the toilets though, they’re disgusting, and I’ve seen FAs let people get way too drunk on TPA flights for their own good.
When did airplane lavatories become bathrooms?
Well it’s actually a “toilet “
The democratization of air travel has brought about all sorts of unintended consequences. I cannot even fathom who thinks airline toilets in bare feet is even a thing. Then again, I cannot even fathom that people fly without proper shoes/socks. Then again, I've heard of people clipping their toenails on Frontier flights, so yeah, I'm against democratizing air travel.
I have flown Frontier once. From West Palm Beach to NYC RT. I purchased a carry-on before hand that conformed to their measurements and packed everything I needed for two days. My flights were painless and on time. The plane was relatively new and spotless. The best part was the fare. I paid $51 RT. Frontier is certainly no frills. But if you take a short trip and travel light you can't beat the cost....
I have flown Frontier once. From West Palm Beach to NYC RT. I purchased a carry-on before hand that conformed to their measurements and packed everything I needed for two days. My flights were painless and on time. The plane was relatively new and spotless. The best part was the fare. I paid $51 RT. Frontier is certainly no frills. But if you take a short trip and travel light you can't beat the cost. I recommend a non-stop flight and only bring a carry-on if you can manage it.
Spirit is no better and Frontier I call them the greyhound of the skies. I fly southwest and have no problems.
Doesn't seem fair to blame Frontier for the kind of passengers that were on that flight. It sounds like the flight itself worked perfectly fine.
Totally agree. I've flown Frontier several times, mostly from DCA to DEN. Oftentimes they're SUBSTANTIALLY cheaper than nonstop competitors on the DC-Denver route, and from DCA at least they offer more flight times than United. It's never fancy and it is bare bones, but overall it works, and I know what I'm getting and not getting. And I'm fine spending more money on my skiing and accommodations than for a plane ticket that gets me...
Totally agree. I've flown Frontier several times, mostly from DCA to DEN. Oftentimes they're SUBSTANTIALLY cheaper than nonstop competitors on the DC-Denver route, and from DCA at least they offer more flight times than United. It's never fancy and it is bare bones, but overall it works, and I know what I'm getting and not getting. And I'm fine spending more money on my skiing and accommodations than for a plane ticket that gets me there just fine. Perhaps it was just the route you were on? I've never noticed behavior like this on the DCA-DEN routes.
Long Island to Florida... enough said
Yup. Ride the LIRR into the city on a Friday night and it's basically this flight on rails.
I’ve flown a few dozen flights on Frontier over the years. All but a couple of them were completely on time and painless, so to me it sounds like you got unlucky on a few things.
But, on a leisure route like that, it will almost always be rougher and rowdier than usual, regardless of the ulcc that you choose.
One note (unless they’ve changed it recently) is that Frontier’s standard seats are “pre-reclined”,...
I’ve flown a few dozen flights on Frontier over the years. All but a couple of them were completely on time and painless, so to me it sounds like you got unlucky on a few things.
But, on a leisure route like that, it will almost always be rougher and rowdier than usual, regardless of the ulcc that you choose.
One note (unless they’ve changed it recently) is that Frontier’s standard seats are “pre-reclined”, while the stretch seats have a recline lever that isn’t easy to find for everyone.
"A good number of people went into the bathroom barefoot."
That's just effin' gross... I don't care who you are, or what you're riding.
Leave it to @ConcordeBum to be fixated about bodily functions....
I have flown Frontier from Ontario to Austin a few times, I love it because they have their own offsite hanger at Austin and I don’t have to deal with the large airport crowds. It is definitely no frills but I have never had any issues and I have had worse experiences on major airlines. Regarding your fellow passengers, dude, you were flying to Florida. Don’t think you can blame that poor decision on Frontier Airlines.
“I’ve never seen a bathroom as disgusting as this one on a domestic flight. People simply didn’t flush. There was pee all over the floor. Some people didn’t even bother trying to close the door while using the bathroom. Worst of all? A good number of people went into the bathroom barefoot.”
Ok Ben, come on. I know better than to use the bathroom on this flight. Time to camel up and hold on until...
“I’ve never seen a bathroom as disgusting as this one on a domestic flight. People simply didn’t flush. There was pee all over the floor. Some people didn’t even bother trying to close the door while using the bathroom. Worst of all? A good number of people went into the bathroom barefoot.”
Ok Ben, come on. I know better than to use the bathroom on this flight. Time to camel up and hold on until you land. Also, I would definitely have over ear noise canceling headphones and a window seat…. Just saying.
"Camel up" lmao. Thank you for that - it's a new one for me.
Ben's job is to inform us. He took one for the team -- thanks -- and he's informed us. Every airline has its own passenger common decency bell curve. Every airline will have some passengers that are highly decent and others without any decency -- so, it would be unfair to say "all passengers of airline X." But, if we put the passenger common decency bell curve of all airlines on a single graph, based...
Ben's job is to inform us. He took one for the team -- thanks -- and he's informed us. Every airline has its own passenger common decency bell curve. Every airline will have some passengers that are highly decent and others without any decency -- so, it would be unfair to say "all passengers of airline X." But, if we put the passenger common decency bell curve of all airlines on a single graph, based on reports, how would they line up? Based on reports, Frontier's high point (mode) would likely be towards the left of other carriers. Same with Spirit. If the issue of common decency is not important to someone, fine. If it is, you've been warned. Thanks Ben.
On that bell curve, every airline and every flight will have some passengers who land on the far left side.
While AA, DL, and UA will have the occasional person who lacks common decency, that person is the outlier on the bell curve. On the other hand
The cross-section of Frontier passengers (and Spirit and certain other airlines)
Sorry about the extra text after the first paragraph. Intended for deletion but was hidden.
Ben , on your week in review, you mentioned "It's too wild out there for me ".(and you would not be traveling for awhile.) It would very interesting to read your further thoughts on the whole summer travel situation.
My parents fly Frontier almost exclusively because of the 2nd tier airports they use and never commented to me about the people. However, I can see parallels to the Spirit customer. After years of refusing to fly NK, I just couldn’t pass up on their price earlier this year. I knew full well going into it that it was going to be unique and it sure was flying BDL-MIA. Saw one guy bring a large...
My parents fly Frontier almost exclusively because of the 2nd tier airports they use and never commented to me about the people. However, I can see parallels to the Spirit customer. After years of refusing to fly NK, I just couldn’t pass up on their price earlier this year. I knew full well going into it that it was going to be unique and it sure was flying BDL-MIA. Saw one guy bring a large pizza on board, that was a first. Luckily the flight was on time, big seat up front and no fights. With the travel demand now and months ago cheap fares, you just have folks that haven’t flown EVER or just not in a long time.
All of you saying how you hate all the uncivilized people who fly ulcc just goes to show how elitist and rac.ist you all are. Check your Privilege
Elitist maybe.. but rac.ist why?
Seems to me the only one who's linking race with "uncivilized" here is you!
I think you might just be racist, as you assume "all of you" are white.
Check yourself...
There is nothing racist nor elitist about being disgusted by people who walk into an airplane bathroom barefoot.
You got unlucky. They are great for direct flights from home (LAS) to SJD. No one else flies that route since Sun Country left it. You can status match to their 100K level and then rebuy it every year. We're coming back from a wedding in Napa later this month and instead of our original United that keeps getting pushed back, I rebooked us on Frontier direct SFO-LAS. Theore website sucks, so I went to...
You got unlucky. They are great for direct flights from home (LAS) to SJD. No one else flies that route since Sun Country left it. You can status match to their 100K level and then rebuy it every year. We're coming back from a wedding in Napa later this month and instead of our original United that keeps getting pushed back, I rebooked us on Frontier direct SFO-LAS. Theore website sucks, so I went to the airport to book it. Took less than 15 minutes and was half the price than online. I think you forgot about this https://onemileatatime.com/buy-cheap-frontier-tickets-airport/
So for $45, I got 2 direct tickets, row 2 seats, free carryon, free checked bags to bring wine home, first to board, etc.
Do they suck? Yes. Are their customers bad? Not as bad as Spirit. Did you just get unlucky? Yes. When flying low cost carriers, you have to take into account where you're flying to and out of. Are a bunch a flip flop wearing cheapos going to be flying into Tampa? Yes. Tamps sucks. From the Bay area, which is going to be worse? OAK-LAS or SFO-LAS? 100% OAK-LAS.
So some thoughts here:
1. Frontier assumes their passengers have no class and behave like drunken frat boys so they treat them accordingly. The prison bus mentality
2. Flight crew and ground staff become combative dealing with the ULCC business model and customer
3. On the other hand, people with little class and no idea of public decorum can be found flying any airline. As I always say want to be convinced...
So some thoughts here:
1. Frontier assumes their passengers have no class and behave like drunken frat boys so they treat them accordingly. The prison bus mentality
2. Flight crew and ground staff become combative dealing with the ULCC business model and customer
3. On the other hand, people with little class and no idea of public decorum can be found flying any airline. As I always say want to be convinced society is degenerating, just go to any airport and observe the people
4. The coach bathrooms on American are just as gross. Too small and people treat it like a port a potty
5. Frontier makes no bones that there's no wifi, power ports, charges for everything and has park bench comfort for their seats.
Honestly, there is no way I'd ever fly an ULCC, particularly Frontier that appears to be on purpose at the bottom of the barrel.
I can't with the sneezing guy...People are really gross. Ay yai yai.
I remember the days when F9 was a full-service carrier and had some of the plushest seats, all with IFE screens. After they acquired YX they even served complimentary warm choc chip cookies for a brief period.
Living in DEN for a decade as they went down the ULCC road was depressing to see them go from one of the better carriers to even worse than NK.
The only redeeming factor with F9 is...
I remember the days when F9 was a full-service carrier and had some of the plushest seats, all with IFE screens. After they acquired YX they even served complimentary warm choc chip cookies for a brief period.
Living in DEN for a decade as they went down the ULCC road was depressing to see them go from one of the better carriers to even worse than NK.
The only redeeming factor with F9 is if you get a good flight deal and have base status. You get a free carry-on and access to stretch seating at check-in. It can make a shorter flight cheap and more tolerable.
FYI, Stretch seats DO recline and quite generously. It is a lever underneath the seat. Every single time I’ve flown somebody in my row asks “how the hell did you just recline?” It isn’t obvious to a first timer who is used to pressing a button on the armrest.
Yes - I moved to Denver in 2003 and they were the best in town, by a lot (this was before Southwest really became big in DEN too). Clever marketing with the talking animals on the plane tails too.
I was on one of the rare flights where the flight attendant showed how to locate the lever and recline the seat in stretch seating. It is below the seat on the aisle side of the seat. Makes stretch seating quite pleasant and arguably better than AA MCE
So, in effect, what you're saying is that Ben's bad experience on an airplane full of people he describes as clueless is due, in part, to his own inability to figure out how to recline his seat?
Wouldn’t fly Frontier if my life depended on it for precisely the reason you mentioned. It attracts a certain crowd that just doesn’t know how to behave in a civilised society.
Ben, there are plenty of patriotic people who fly AA/UA/DL, too. Your comment is unnecessarily catty and is borderline offensive to those among your readers who still think that, while flawed, the US is a pretty great place.
"By using an eagle, the airline almost tries to make it seem like a patriotic duty. Which, come and think of it, that might not be a bad strategy given the customer base."
"borderline offensive"
it's an eagle, he made a joke, it's not this deep
MAGA people fuming
That eagle comment must have scored you a bunch of points with your lib friends. You're so clever and edgy Ben.
I never understood why connies are so humorless.
Because they're stupid and generally lack higher reasoning skills usually expected in complex organisms.
LOL, you are right about the complex organism part, connies are about as simple as you can get.
Sel you are super-depressing.
Snowflake!
This is spot on. I used to work at Corporate at Frontier and they did not care about their customers at all. I was asked to join a marketing ad meeting one time with a bunch of very high level people (BB) where we went over all of the ads for their "green campaign" a few years ago and was astounded by how patronizing their ads were. There were some that basically said "You should...
This is spot on. I used to work at Corporate at Frontier and they did not care about their customers at all. I was asked to join a marketing ad meeting one time with a bunch of very high level people (BB) where we went over all of the ads for their "green campaign" a few years ago and was astounded by how patronizing their ads were. There were some that basically said "You should be thanking us bc our airline is so green" or "you should be happy to pay for all of the ancillary fees bc our airline is so green." The funny thing was, when I told them that you can't be saying these type of things to your customers, I got laughed at.
This is the huge unstated obvious thing about the spirit merger that is intuitively obvious to fliers but that business and points writers keep missing. In my experience, Spirit flies relatively normal passengers between cities that need price competition, and their fliers would fly jet blue and vice versa. Frontier passengers are a whole weird intra-red state Maga ecosystem that I don’t want on my spirit flight between lga and dtw, whereas I am fine...
This is the huge unstated obvious thing about the spirit merger that is intuitively obvious to fliers but that business and points writers keep missing. In my experience, Spirit flies relatively normal passengers between cities that need price competition, and their fliers would fly jet blue and vice versa. Frontier passengers are a whole weird intra-red state Maga ecosystem that I don’t want on my spirit flight between lga and dtw, whereas I am fine having then on my jetblue flight between la and nyc
Then=them=spirit customers
I flew Frontier to a work conference. Like you, the non-stop was appealing. At the time they had a promo going, where kids fly free. So I took my wife for her $280 ticket and the kids for free. I felt like being cheap, so we didn't pay for any extras. We were in the next to last row and the seats really sucked. So many inexperienced travelers on the plane made for an unpleasant...
I flew Frontier to a work conference. Like you, the non-stop was appealing. At the time they had a promo going, where kids fly free. So I took my wife for her $280 ticket and the kids for free. I felt like being cheap, so we didn't pay for any extras. We were in the next to last row and the seats really sucked. So many inexperienced travelers on the plane made for an unpleasant boarding and deplaning. The lady next to my wife asked her to hold her 1-year-old while she went to the bathroom. I'd taken the family on AA the month before to Japan, so my kids sounded like entitled brats when they boarded and said "this isn't like AA, this is a crowded smelly bus."
I feel like that’s somewhat just what frontier and spirit (and allegiance) are these days.
Also, I’ll agree that the clientele booking ULCC to Florida is just an interesting group of people. Flying Frontier from Midwest to Orlando, we still have clapping on landing like 75% of the time. They run promos regularly that those are when you get actually good deals.
And frontier has done status “matches” (even from hotels) for a...
I feel like that’s somewhat just what frontier and spirit (and allegiance) are these days.
Also, I’ll agree that the clientele booking ULCC to Florida is just an interesting group of people. Flying Frontier from Midwest to Orlando, we still have clapping on landing like 75% of the time. They run promos regularly that those are when you get actually good deals.
And frontier has done status “matches” (even from hotels) for a fee, so with the top status all that stuff comes for free and makes it a decent value.
That top tier status match last year was a steal, and being in DEN made it a no brainer. And I will say it paid for itself on one flight out of Miami with all of the gate lice having to part to allow me to preboard into my stretch seat.
And I've seen the flight attendants be real good about preserving overhead space for row 1 even on full flights which is better than I can say I've seen on the majors
Did status match too. Complete steal. On half a dozen flights I've had the first two rows to myself and the front attendants have been great. I bought my first drink, tipped, and then free drinks after that lol. Conversely if I had to pay for all that each time, not worth it. And I don't think I'd fly in the back. The people there are something different.
Frontier's only redeeming quality is their cheeky animal mascots on their aircraft and in their advertising. Not even that can save the airline from having a product I can only adequately describe as a nuclear reactor meltdown fire.
Frontier airline is completely outsourced to 3rd party handlers. Even at their hubs, its still completely outsourced. I worked for them for about a year in a small station SNA. At least at our station the gate agents had polo shirts in green that said Frontier, but thats about it.
We got the weirdest passengers no doubt. Especially those who were flying SNA-LAS. Those were the bottom of the barrel people. Their training is...
Frontier airline is completely outsourced to 3rd party handlers. Even at their hubs, its still completely outsourced. I worked for them for about a year in a small station SNA. At least at our station the gate agents had polo shirts in green that said Frontier, but thats about it.
We got the weirdest passengers no doubt. Especially those who were flying SNA-LAS. Those were the bottom of the barrel people. Their training is not of the best either.
They don't use any bag scanners, they just take the stickers off the bags and put them on a piece of paper.
Everyone says Spirit is the worst airline, I laugh and say at least they have big front seats and Wifi. Frontier has nothing. LOL
This is kind of why I shrug when Frontier says they will bring "more low fares" if they buy Spirit. From what I can tell, Spirit at least offers the option for a large front seat and seems to be a better experience than this. Other new ULCC options I have seen (like Avelo) also seem more pleasant.
I've flown Frontier twice - both times on hour-ish long flights that were direct routes not served by any other airline (one of which was out of Islip, incidentally). My takeaway was that those were the longest flights I ever cared to fly on Frontier: the convenience of a direct flight was worth the ULCC experience, but I was definitely not interested in spending any more time with them than that. A marriage of convenience.
You should fly another trip to see whether it was just a one-off or whether that's the standard. Never flown them... and would think even less about doing so now!
... in fact, it's almost an obligation as a travel blogger for you to fly them again to validate (or otherwise) your experience ;-)
Definitely a good Monday laugh. Probably a bad day or you're just hyper aware of surroundings (as anyone should be). As with all airlines, good experiences and bad ones. We all try to take the flight that gets us from point A to B the quickest. This flight seemed to do just that.
And also, you were flying to Florida. Now there are plenty of respectable, well-behaved Floridians and visitors, but in my experience (even when flying UA F), there's just a general edginess and bad behavior on flights to FL.
@ David -- For sure, just keep in mind I've lived in Florida nearly my whole life, so the fact that I found the behavior to be shocking should say a lot.
Besides, who said these fine folks didn't live/originate in NY instead of FL? :)
That seems by far more likely given the time of year.
Yes, I take your point.
I flew Frontier from PHX to LAS a few weeks ago.
For a 40 min flight it was fine. Yes, the seat was uncomfortable, but the flight was short. I paid to bring a bag on board but none of the other extras. Flight including the bag was $90 when AA wanted $300.
I had no customer drama and the gate staff were all in matching green polos (I think). The one thing I found odd was there were 5 of them for our not full flight.
Frontier was a mess when I last flew them in 2001, I've avoided them ever since. Sounds like I made the right call.
Thanks for reviewing their product and for keeping us up to date on products we should avoid at all costs
i mean, tampa does tend to have pretty rowdy crowds, so its not too all surprising honestly.
Try to book a LCC in Europe like Ryanair or Easyjet last minute, you won't have a one-way for that money.
Let me be clear, I've never flown one of those so called LCC's but I've booked it for other people who request it.
Ok, I just tried to book a last-minute Lisbon to Pisa trip on Ryanair and it was.............cheaper at $80 for a flight that is longer than Islip to Tampa.
What do you call a "last minute"? By last minute I mean same day or the day before. And do you had checked luggage for that amount? If yes, like everything above mentioned, I'll pay your ticket.
I see the first available flight from Lisbon to Pisa is 16JUL, sorry but that's not a last minute.
I didn´t have any checked luggage but with the exact same ¨Works Bundle¨ (i.e. checked baggage, carry-on, seat selection, etc.) was $156. It was a nonstop on Wednesday (two days out) that I booked nearly two hours ago. If you don´t consider that ¨last minute¨, I am perfectly willing to recheck the price tomorrow since you will be paying.