Anyone ever flown with Frontier?

[mitsugirly]

We have never tried them before (normally fly Southwest) but have tried Spirit before and they weren't bad for a cheap carrier. This time around (for what we are wanting) Frontier is even cheaper than Spirit. 

 

Any thoughts/experiences on them?

[FlyerTalker]

Once.

 

If you think nickel and dime is just on cruiseships, wait till you fly Frontier.  Checked bag - fee.  Carryon bag - fee.  Seat selection - fee. Drinks, including water - fee.

 

Seat pitch isn't great and if you have irops you may have trouble getting to your destination.

 

If you are going to buy bags and seat selection, you do better to get one of their "bundles".

 

 

[mitsugirly]

12 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

Once.

 

If you think nickel and dime is just on cruiseships, wait till you fly Frontier.  Checked bag - fee.  Carryon bag - fee.  Seat selection - fee. Drinks, including water - fee.

 

Seat pitch isn't great and if you have irops you may have trouble getting to your destination.

 

If you are going to buy bags and seat selection, you do better to get one of their "bundles".

 

 

 

Most carriers (other than SW, which doesn't fly there) make you pay for seats and luggage that I have found unless you can tell me another please?

 

I have priced it with 1 bag (we don't do carryon) and seat selection and it's cheaper than buying a bundle. We always bring our own drinks and snacks from the airport prior to leaving so that wouldn't be a problem. 

 

 

**edit*** I tried the "bundle" again, it was $12 cheaper this time. I'm not sure what I did last time, but thanks for bringing it up and making me check it out again. I appreciate it. 

Edited February 5, 2022 by mitsugirly

[mitsugirly]

I might add we are flying out of St Thomas

[SelectSys]

5 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

If you think nickel and dime is just on cruiseships, wait till you fly Frontier.  Checked bag - fee.  Carryon bag - fee.  Seat selection - fee. Drinks, including water - fee.

Well, just like on other airlines some of these are provided at no charge on Frontier if you achieve elite status although getting 100k points for a free bag seems steep.

https://www.flyfrontier.com/myfrontier/frontier-miles/elite-status

 

5 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

Most carriers (other than SW, which doesn't fly there) make you pay for seats and luggage that I have found unless you can tell me another please?

I agree.  This is very much a common practice on most airlines - at least in the US - for low cost economy seats.  The traditional way around this is to have some kind of elite status on the airline.  Maybe a credit card as well?

Edited February 5, 2022 by SelectSys

[mitsugirly]

7 hours ago, SelectSys said:

Well, just like on other airlines some of these are provided at no charge on Frontier if you achieve elite status although getting 100k points for a free bag seems steep.

https://www.flyfrontier.com/myfrontier/frontier-miles/elite-status

 

I agree.  This is very much a common practice on most airlines - at least in the US - for low cost economy seats.  The traditional way around this is to have some kind of elite status on the airline.  Maybe a credit card as well?

 

Right. I don't plan on flying enough with them to achieve any type of status. It will probably be the only time I fly with them.

 

I guess I will just book and hope for the best. 🙂

[Hawaiidan]

On 2/4/2022 at 10:20 PM, SelectSys said:

Well, just like on other airlines some of these are provided at no charge on Frontier if you achieve elite status although getting 100k points for a free bag seems steep.

https://www.flyfrontier.com/myfrontier/frontier-miles/elite-status

 

I agree.  This is very much a common practice on most airlines - at least in the US - for low cost economy seats.  The traditional way around this is to have some kind of elite status on the airline.  Maybe a credit card as well?

UA  credif card gets you  free bags and  points, so even if you do not fly much you will build  ff credits buying beans and gas.... things your already spending  but could be building a war chest for the future.

[zdcatc12]

21 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

UA  credif card gets you  free bags and  points, so even if you do not fly much you will build  ff credits buying beans and gas.... things your already spending  but could be building a war chest for the future.

UA credit card only gets you free bags if you use it to buy your ticket.

[FlyerTalker]

28 minutes ago, zdcatc12 said:

UA credit card only gets you free bags if you use it to buy your ticket.

 

Correct.  And not every UA card gets a bag benefit.

 

OTOH, the AS card gives you the benefit whether you use the card for ticket purchase or not.

[TomBeckCruise]

On 2/22/2022 at 4:38 PM, FlyerTalker said:

 

Correct.  And not every UA card gets a bag benefit.

 

OTOH, the AS card gives you the benefit whether you use the card for ticket purchase or not.

What is the "AS card". I searched that and  got pictures of the Ace of spades.

[FlyerTalker]

Alaska Airlines = AS

[CPT Trips]

With Spirit and Fromtier merging, I anticipate that synergies will result in even poorer service and more customer complaints. I flew each once. I never say never, but it will be a cold day in hell **** before I take that step again.

[Jaymuxman]

The only thing Frontier Airlines DOESN'T charge for is to use the bathroom, and who knows, that could be coming soon! 🤣

[kristapb]

I flew Frontier recently.  Bought the bundle, for seat assignment and checked luggage.  

Plusses:  Plan was very clean, staff onboard seemed friendly and efficient.  Flight arrived on time even though it was a bit late for takeoff. Price was good for a nonstop on the route I wanted.

Minuses:  The seat was quite hard and and upright, had no recline at all.  It also seemed narrower and less legroom than other airlines, but I don;t know the actual measurements.  And the tray table was strangely small - about 6 inches deep.

 

I'd fly them again, but not for more than about 3 hours in those hard seats.

[mitsugirly]

4 hours ago, kristapb said:

I flew Frontier recently.  Bought the bundle, for seat assignment and checked luggage.  

Plusses:  Plan was very clean, staff onboard seemed friendly and efficient.  Flight arrived on time even though it was a bit late for takeoff. Price was good for a nonstop on the route I wanted.

Minuses:  The seat was quite hard and and upright, had no recline at all.  It also seemed narrower and less legroom than other airlines, but I don;t know the actual measurements.  And the tray table was strangely small - about 6 inches deep.

 

I'd fly them again, but not for more than about 3 hours in those hard seats.

 

This plane sounds just like Spirit with the seats and small tray table so at least I know what to expect. Thank you. We will only be flying from St Thomas to Orlando, so not a long flight. I think we'll be ok. 

[CPT Trips]

Just hope there are no mechanical problems and the crew doesn’t time out. 

[Silent Penguin]

On 3/11/2022 at 5:11 PM, kristapb said:

I flew Frontier recently.  Bought the bundle, for seat assignment and checked luggage.  

Plusses:  Plan was very clean, staff onboard seemed friendly and efficient.  Flight arrived on time even though it was a bit late for takeoff. Price was good for a nonstop on the route I wanted.

Minuses:  The seat was quite hard and and upright, had no recline at all.  It also seemed narrower and less legroom than other airlines, but I don;t know the actual measurements.  And the tray table was strangely small - about 6 inches deep.

 

I'd fly them again, but not for more than about 3 hours in those hard seats.

I know it's been several months since this thread's had any replies, but I just want to say, ditto on all this. I just took my first Frontier r/t flight -BWI to LAS.      I have no complaints about their policies or my experience, but I came to the same conclusion  about only considering Frontier for short flights.  The nonstop flight to Vegas was 4.5 hours and a total grind.  I'm only 5'1 and average built, but I felt pretty uncomfortable and cramped.  

 

[FlyerTalker]

You get what you pay for.

 

TANSTAAFL.

[6rugrats]

On 2/22/2022 at 5:08 PM, zdcatc12 said:

UA credit card only gets you free bags if you use it to buy your ticket.

I know this is old, but posting for info.  A Chase Explorer card, which seems to be the most popular UA branded card, gets the PRIMARY card holder and one companion (on the same booking) one bag each.  The card must have been used to purchase the ticket on United.com, and it must be a UA operated flight.  So, only two free bags total.  If you book with your card and you are not the primary card holder, no free bag.  If the primary card holder buys you the ticket using their card and they aren't traveling, no free bag.

Edited October 15, 2022 by 6rugrats

[Zach1213]

On 10/14/2022 at 10:02 PM, Silent Penguin said:

The nonstop flight to Vegas was 4.5 hours and a total grind.  I'm only 5'1 and average built, but I felt pretty uncomfortable and cramped.  

 

 

Whenever I check FlightRadar24 and see a Frontier flight overhead that is doing a route like BWI-LAS, all I feel is pain and sorrow for those onboard. 

 

I'm all for Frontier on short flights, but couldn't do more than like 60-90 minutes on them. And I am 6'1" or so. 

[DogLover]

14 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

Whenever I check FlightRadar24 and see a Frontier flight overhead that is doing a route like BWI-LAS, all I feel is pain and sorrow for those onboard. 

 

I'm all for Frontier on short flights, but couldn't do more than like 60-90 minutes on them. And I am 6'1" or so. 

Heck, I won't even consider them for Phoenix to Denver, and I'm 5'3"! I'd rather suffer on Southwest (which is an absolute LAST place choice for our air travel.)

[pcrum]

I believe that Frontier has recently discontinued their call center, so there is no option to speak to an agent in case of issues. 

 

I flew them once in 2019 roundtrip from  MCO to LAS and had no issues.  Booked again for a flight in 2020 and had an absolute nightmare using the flight credit when the flight was cancelled.  At that time, they had a telephone call center, but I literally spent 4 hours on the telephone.  They would intentionally cut me off at a certain point.  I still have a small credit with them, but do not have any intention of using it, which is what they bank on.  They make using any type of credit an absolute nightmare.  My recommendation is to use them only if you are 100% certain your plans won't change (or that there is not another pandemic that shuts the world down).  If you have to try to access their customer service for any reason, it's a nightmare.  

[jbrinkm]

On 3/11/2022 at 5:11 PM, kristapb said:

I flew Frontier recently.  Bought the bundle, for seat assignment and checked luggage.  

Plusses:  Plan was very clean, staff onboard seemed friendly and efficient.  Flight arrived on time even though it was a bit late for takeoff. Price was good for a nonstop on the route I wanted.

Minuses:  The seat was quite hard and and upright, had no recline at all.  It also seemed narrower and less legroom than other airlines, but I don;t know the actual measurements.  And the tray table was strangely small - about 6 inches deep.

 

I'd fly them again, but not for more than about 3 hours in those hard seats.

 

We used them almost exclusively for 4-5 years for our usual flights that were anywhere from 2 hours to 4 hours. We were very happy with them and never had a problem. 

 

Then before our April 2022 cruise, they changed our flight where we would have missed our cruise so we spent 6 hours on the phone to get a hold of someone to switch our flight. They didn't even notify us - I found out because someone else posted that their flight times changed and I went and checked. THEN they changed the weight limit at the last minute for checked suitcases to 40 pounds (down from 50) which really screwed us. We wanted to just do one 28" suitcase for each of us (2 adults, 2 teens) and then a backpack or other personal item. We ended up having to scramble to add 2 additional carry on suitcases, and our big ones weren't even full after we pulled 10 pounds out of each. Now I tend to not even bother looking at them because the cost to add suitcases and seat assignments basically puts them in the same price range as the bigger airlines. Plus all that uncomfortableness in the tiny, hard seats, as has been mentioned.

 

You might be fine, and in your situation you may still save a bunch of money. I hope so! 

 

On 2/26/2022 at 11:44 AM, CPT Trips said:

With Spirit and Fromtier merging, I anticipate that synergies will result in even poorer service and more customer complaints. I flew each once. I never say never, but it will be a cold day in hell **** before I take that step again.

 

Turns out that JetBlue and Spirit are merging and not Frontier (at least not yet...).

[LuckyStar]

On 2/4/2022 at 5:35 PM, mitsugirly said:

We have never tried them before (normally fly Southwest) but have tried Spirit before and they weren't bad for a cheap carrier. This time around (for what we are wanting) Frontier is even cheaper than Spirit. 

 

Any thoughts/experiences on them?

Yes. I have flown them.  They nickel and dime you to death.  I will usually fly them for a short trip that I have no baggage and no layover.  I would never use them for a long trip.  They were on time and dependable but the extra charges are annoying.    

[mitsugirly]

On 9/17/2023 at 6:34 PM, LuckyStar said:

Yes. I have flown them.  They nickel and dime you to death.  I will usually fly them for a short trip that I have no baggage and no layover.  I would never use them for a long trip.  They were on time and dependable but the extra charges are annoying.    

 

This post was from over a year and a half ago. We already flew with them and had a decent experience (or about the same as Spirit). I feel like ALL airlines nickel and dime you with charging to pick your seat/class or paying extra for luggage. Southwest doesn't do that, which is why we try to fly with them but sometimes they don't go to where we want to go in the Caribbean. 🙂