Frontier Airlines, experiences?

[Andrew1972]

We recently had another airline to Pease former air force base 10 mins away from my home vs 50 mins to Boston Logan, Manchester or Portland ME Jetport.

You can get to Orlando RT for $50-$100 no carry on . Everything extra.

What are people's experiences?

 

[RamFan]

I've heard it's similar to Spirit, though I have no first hand experience. If it is like Spirit then you can expect no reclining seats, rock hard seats with 1/4'' of cushion on them, additional costs for ALL on board drinks/food/entertainment and the constant wondering of, "is it this cheap because they're prolonging maintenance as long as legally possible?".

 

[JayhawkRoy]

Used to fly Frontier from Kansas City to Seattle for work. Always had to connect in Denver. Wasn't a great experience, but this was before their low fare airline approach.

I just checked, and if I went to Seattle next week, I would have a 22 hour layover in Denver going, and a 7 hour layover coming back. That makes their low fare a non-starter for me, even if I am retired.

 

[MNgopher]

RamFan has got it correct. Think Spirit, if you know what that is. Last time I flew them Minneapolis - Denver and back, I decided that I'd only take them if I had to, and not for a flight much longer than that. If you can accept their conditions and recognize all the possible ways they can nickel and dime you, then they are fine.

 

[NYSteve]

Used to fly Frontier before they were bought out. Their parent company is a cargo shipping specialist, so take that for what it's worth on how they think of their customers.

 

[SevenBizzos]

Flew it once, and won't again. It's the airline that you use if you want to get somewhere quickly and you're not bringing anything. They charge for everything and you'll end up paying the same as a full service airline if you use Frontier for something like a vacation. The seats are horrible and don't move. I'm not wishing anything bad upon them because I believe they have a niche. You'll see UAL and AA quoting really cheap fares that are basically "point A to point B". No seat, no bags, no changes, nothing, and that's fine.

The one thing that irked me was the constant sales pitch on their credit card. Once I certainly expect. Twice is a little disruptive. But four and five times and then walking seat to seat and asking you to sign up was a little bit too much to me.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

Originally Posted by RamFan
I've heard it's similar to Spirit, though I have no first hand experience. If it is like Spirit then you can expect no reclining seats, rock hard seats with 1/4'' of cushion on them, additional costs for ALL on board drinks/food/entertainment and the constant wondering of, "is it this cheap because they're prolonging maintenance as long as legally possible?".


This.....BUT, they are not Allegiant. Allegiant has the most return-to-airports out there due to deferred maintenance.

 

[fdcg27]

My younger son has had a couple of trips CVG-PDX on Frontier over the last couple of months.
Other than ridiculously long layovers, he had no issues and the fares were low.
If you want only cheap transport and are willing to play by their rules, then Frontier and Spirit can offer a bargain flight.
If things go south, though, you have very limited rebook options.
No interlining with these guys and no huge network to flow through as with Southwest.

 

[Astro14]

Another company that treats its employees badly (pilots have been without a contract for 5 years, for example) and has been through bankruptcy several times to squeeze them, and creditors.

A good friend of mine, who lives in Denver, got stuck in Seattle when they canceled.

They offered to rebook him.

TWO WEEKS later.

They said it was not their fault, so they owed him nothing.

Caveat Emptor

 

[Mr Nice]

Pay extra and fly at a better airline.

Unfortunately the public wants (demands) the 'Walmart-ification' of low cost air travel...

I fly a lot on American for business, I would prefer not to travel.

 

[GMguy84]

Horrible,

I try and avoid them when flying. Few years ago I got moved from my window to a isle seat so a group of kids can all sit together

No apology No credit


Shame Virgin America went away. That was the BEST company I have ever flew on so far !!!

Dave

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted by GMguy84
Horrible,

I try and avoid them when flying. Few years ago I got moved from my window to a isle seat so a group of kids can all sit together

No apology No credit


Shame Virgin America went away. That was the BEST company I have ever flew on so far !!!

Dave


Virgin was bought.

I don't think Branson got into the US airline business out of altruism. Virgin America served his purpose.

But, Alaska, who bought them, has a good reputation for service and performance. So, they're still around, in that sense.

You can still choose a good airline on the West Coast and to Alaska.

 

[Andrew1972]

Thanks, the risk seems if flight cancelled I have to purchase from another airline. The flight is direct and would not consider a low rent carrier with a layover.

I don't mind paying for extras when warranted. They are a very convenient option is why I am considering them for a less then 3hr flight. Free parking too.

 

[97prizm]

Yes I'm bummed they stopped their multi tier pricing. To be fair I've had better luck with them than Southwest. Southwest cancelled and told me tough don't book aow cost airline. A second trip they "didn't know where the airplane was". They also somehow booked 150 people on a 130 seat aircraft

 

[rubberchicken]

Originally Posted by Astro14
Originally Posted by GMguy84
Horrible,

I try and avoid them when flying. Few years ago I got moved from my window to a isle seat so a group of kids can all sit together

No apology No credit


Shame Virgin America went away. That was the BEST company I have ever flew on so far !!!

Dave


Virgin was bought.

I don't think Branson got into the US airline business out of altruism. Virgin America served his purpose.

But, Alaska, who bought them, has a good reputation for service and performance. So, they're still around, in that sense.

You can still choose a good airline on the West Coast and to Alaska.


I have never used them myself, but Alaska has a good reputation.

 

[dadto2]

We flew Frontier round trip from Buffalo to Orlando back in February. No frills, inexpensive, and no issues. I would fly Frontier again.

 

[csandste]

They're the preferred "get to your all inclusive resort in Cancun or Punta Cana" provider out of STL. Used them twice for that, plus had to get on a flight to somewhere in Florida when Delta went down due to bad weather in Atlanta and I had to catch a cruise ship. No horror stories and I'm not physically afraid to fly them like Allegiant but they do nickel and dime you for fees. Would use them again if the price were right but didn't exactly get warm feelings from my experience, maybe because cute animals on plane tales mean little to me.

 

[JMJNet]

I got the feeling that this airport where Frontier take off is only 10 minutes away.
So, in that sense, if that is the only choice, then OP may want to try and let us know.

The alternative is driving longer to go to bigger airport with more choices of airlines.

So, it is a case of not just cost/service but convenience.

The Frontier is more convenient on the ground but may be not as convenient up in the air.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted by JMJNet
I got the feeling that this airport where Frontier take off is only 10 minutes away.
So, in that sense, if that is the only choice, then OP may want to try and let us know.

The alternative is driving longer to go to bigger airport with more choices of airlines.

So, it is a case of not just cost/service but convenience.

The Frontier is more convenient on the ground but may be not as convenient up in the air.


CVG is about a fifty mile drive and offers a good choice of flights, none of them cheap.
DAY is forty miles up the road and offers little, unlike the glory days of just a decade ago when there were many choices and cheap fares. AirTran to SJU was as cheap as ~$700.00 round trip for both wife and I connecting through ATL.
CMH is around a hundred miles and offers a number of choices with only Spirit being cheap.
We are in a part of the country where cheap flight options are few.
We could drive 200+ miles to CLE and take JetBlue for a fairly cheap fare. The glory days of the CAL hub and the flight options later continued by the acquiring UAL have long since passed. CAK does offer some cheap options but if anything happened you'd be stuck since this is an airport without much traffic and it has been abandoned by Southwest.