Experiences flying with Frontier? Or choose other airline

[zobow02]

We will be at the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend for 5-6ish nights at POP (not sure on how many nights we currently have 5 nights booked) and as much as we like flying with Allegiant into Sanford-Orlando Airport, we want to make sure there aren't any better offers flying into the Orlando International Airport. Our current two options from our airport (which are nonstop routes) are Southwest (which is really expensive atm) and Frontier (which is not booking for our date quite yet), we could do others flights out of our Airport but we would have some stops on the way. I guess my main question is, how is Frontier Airlines? Or are their other airlines that are worth booking for more money?

 

[_19disnA]

I have flown on Frontier & Southwest several times and never had any issues. I have found both very well organized and we have generally departed on time. Some other budget airlines I have observed seem disorganized at the gate, are always scurrying around at the last minute to setup for departure and if you don't start boarding 30-45 min ahead of scheduled departure you will NOT take off on time.

With any airline you need to look at the TOTAL price of travel after buying seats, checked baggage fees, etc. so you are making valid comparisons considering what is important to you. Southwest doesn't charge for a checked bag which is now about $25/bag per person each way, so it quickly adds up. Frontier charges for soft drinks but if the flight is under 2 hrs, I can do without or just buy things at the airport prior to departure. On longer flights, you also need to consider what they charge for meals and perhaps are better off eating at the airport prior to departure. I have seen a lot of people who have no idea about these things and then wonder why they aren't getting a free meal/beverage once we have departed. Depending where you live, you may/may not be able to get non-stop flights to Orlando and that is usually a big advantage in not getting stuck in some random hub airport due to weather or mechanical issues as well as overall quicker flight times.

There are some other airline related threads and seems when someone has one bad experience in prior travel, they say they will never fly that airline again.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

On Touring Plans there are horror stories recently of Frontier canceling flights at last minute, no notice or reason (think no related to the weather). Planes delayed hours with no information or notice.

Flights canceled and not able to get rebookef for a week or more because of limited planes and not flying routes every day of the week.

People having to rent cars and drive-

I'd honestly steer clear of Frontier and Allegiant if planning time sensitive vacation. Also Allegiant I'd steer clear of if I care about living after seeing 60 Minutes report!

 

[_19disnA]

IF your flight is delayed (stuff happens on all airlines), you will most likely get some kind of airline discount for a future flight.

 

[tnolan]

I have never flown on Frontier but thought it worth mentioning that Frontier and Spirit have tied several times for the worst satisfaction rating on airline lists. Have had experience with Spirit's terrible customer satisfaction. Good luck!

 

[maxiesmom]

My nephew had a non stop flight from Orlando home to Michigan booked on Frontier. Had. They changed his non stop to one with a layover. That went out west and would have had him spending the night in the airport. So now he is booked on Southwest.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

If something happens to your Frontier flight it could be days before they can get you on the next flight. I just over heard folks a few weeks ago at the airport on a Friday night being told their flight was canceled and the next flight out would be Monday!.. Another person I know of got clear to the airport, checked in and arrived at the gate and was handed a personalized letter informing him his flight was canceled. Frontier took the time to personalize a letter to him but could not call him and tell him ahead of time! So its up to you and how flexible you can be and how brave you want to be with Frontier. I had a coworker last month whose flight was delayed by 6 hrs. They got on the plane all settled into their seats and out of the blue they were told the flight had been canceled! Read their FB page and see all the stuff that has been going on.

 

[Shanti]

The one time we flew Frontier, the outgoing flight had a 3 hour delay (not due to weather or any kind of airport or system issue). The only comp they offered people was a coupon booklet. This was several years ago, but I have chosen to never fly them again.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

My family flies frontier almost exclusively. They go from Trenton and haven’t had any more issues than on other airlines.

 

[Dis703]

We fly Frontier pretty much exclusively these days and several times a year. We've been very happy with them. No major issues with flights just minor delays so far. Excellent cancellation policy for illness and other emergency reasons. We mostly fly out of Trenton and Philly to Orlando and Myrtle Beach. If you are used to Allegiant then you know the discount airline pricing structure and less frequent flight schedule, which are usually the biggest complaints people have about them. I actually prefer it because I don't need all the extras so it lets me fly for a cheaper price.

 

[barbliny]

We prefer to fly out of our local Long Island airport, which like you allows us two options - Southwest and Frontier. Since Frontier came to Long Island last October, we have used them almost exclusively - we were frequent fliers on Southwest up until that point. The Frontier prices (even accounting for paying for everything a la carte) are way below SW prices - it is rare for us to even check a bag, let alone 2 each, somewhat negating the benefit of SW not charging for bags.

For the most part all of our flights have been uneventful. We have flown Frontier to Orlando, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, Minneapolis, Chicago and Myrtle Beach. There have been delays - primarily because of weather. We easily used their emergency illness policy in November when our dd had a medical emergency (and she was not even flying with us, and she was over 21).

This past Saturday - on my 30th leg on Frontier - was the first major issue i have had with the airline.

Flight was scheduled to depart at 12:25 pm.
Around 10:15 am they posted a delay of 30 minutes.
Around 11:30, the departure time was changed to 2:30 pm.
At 11:50, I received an email that a meal voucher was available for pickup at the gate.
I was in the lounge, so elected to just spend my time there instead of going to the gate to collect it.
At 1:50, departure time was still posted as 2:30. I made my way to the gate.
Inquired and my meal voucher was still available - it was $10. They admitted that they would not even know what time the flight would be leaving until 2:30 pm.
Plane boarded at 3:30, left at 4:00 pm.
Communication could have been better.
Turns out the first delay was because of air control - Trump was visiting Long Island, which caused a stop on most flights in the tri-state area. Then a flight from somewhere else landed with a mechanical problem. After a while, they made the decision to take 'our' plane that was sitting at the gate unused and use it for the next flight that was supposed to use the plane with the problem. They were working on the plane for our flight. However, that plane was much smaller than our original. They 'found' another large plane for us eventually.
Landed 3 hours late. 15 minutes after landing, I received an email from Frontier with an unsolicited $50 voucher.
Had the flight been cancelled - the options would have been
- to re-book on the next available Frontier flight - which would have been Wednesday for the majority of passengers. Although, there were flights daily from MCO to ISP - they were primarily sold out until Wednesday. Also, would have received a $400 voucher
- to re-book on another airline and get up to $400 refunded towards the fare on that airline. The fare for the Southwest flight leaving later that evening was $509 - a family did opt to do that around 3:00 pm, and had to do so out of their own pocket and would receive no compensation from Frontier since it was 'voluntary'. As it turns out, they wound up back on the Frontier flight because the SW flight was delayed and would not have left until hours after our re-scheduled flight.

I have heard and seen many horror stories about Frontier, but my personal experience has not had many hurdles. I do seem to notice that there are some airports that see way more problems with Frontier than others.

 

[lookame]

I flew frontier once, my parents are becoming frontier vets and it's become their preferred airline. They like the low fares, the ability to purchase only what they need and they appreciate the personal item. Typically they do a checked bag and 2 personal items for the 2 of them. They don't select seats and have never had issues being able to sit with their party. They mke sure to check in right at 24 hrs.

My experience with frontier was pretty smooth. We got there 2 hrs early and made it through TSa quickly then wandered around the airport for awhile. We learned there was a short 1/2 hr delay while sitting in the terminal it was posted on the screen with flight info. As soon as the flight arrived (our plane) and everyone from th previous flight was off the plane we were boarding. It was boarded very quickly (like in 15 mins or so it felt) and we were then taking off. This flight was incredibly quick and organized. The flight oon the way back there were no issues with delays and the pilot was awesome coming over the pa to let us know wed be taking off shortly and he was excited to finish this flight and celebrate his anniversary. That being said it seemed like everyone who was supposed to be on the flight were late so we ended up waiting for bit while all the people ran to the gate to board last min. We were the 15 plane in line o the runway for takeoff so we were on the runway for a little bit until we took off. Overall we took off maybe 1/2 hr to 45 mins later than expected but that was no fault on the airline itself.

while both flights were nonstop my sister's luggage didn't make it to New York. She filed a claim for her luggage and was promised it would arrive at 6am. Frontier forgot to put it on that flight so put it on a flight to Califorina then Colorado and it finally made it to New York around 2am 2 days later. Frontier drove it to where we were staying and refunded the check bag fee and a $150 voucher since it arrived much later. The flight back her luggage arrived but a wheel was broken and I guess there was an oil stain on the front. I don't know what came from the broken luggage but when she went to file a claim for the damaged luggage the woman shrugged and was kind of like "to bad" but most airlines won't do much for damaged

Be sure to understand that no boarding pass, no bags, no seat selection are included in your fare. If you choose to have a boarding pass printed its something like $15 maybe $30 but you can easily use your phone for your boarding pass. You are given seats at checkin but you can change around your seats as long as it's within the seats given to your party (we were flying with 9 people so we were change seats within those 9 seats given to us so everyone was pretty ok. example-my seat was a middle seat., my husbands an asile and my 3 yr old had a window. I sat in my husbands seat, my daughter sat in my assigned seat and my husband sat in my daughters assigned seat. The FA were fine with this)

 

[poohbear8]

I saw your post while looking up info for my trip. I have run the Princess before and my suggestion is NOT to use Frontier (or Spirit) on the way there, since you "have" to be there by a certain date. Due to weather in February, you run the risk of cancelled flights. (there might not be snow where you live, but there might be snow elsewhere which will ground the plane) If you want to consider them, be sure to see when the next flight is if they cancel yours. For example, some days, they only fly one flight out of Dulles. If they cancel it, there is nothing until two days later. For race vacations, I always make sure the airline I choose has numerous flights and/or has agreements with other airlines so I have a shot of getting to Orlando and the race. I have heard stories where runners don't make the expo due to being late on flights or having their flight cancelled. I believe most of the major airlines work with each other, the discount ones do not.

Southwest has become my first choice, due to the free bags and usually lower prices. I am currently considering Frontier home since if they cancel it, I am perfectly happy staying in florida another day or two.

 

[StageTek]

Frontier was about to become my regular airline after three fine round trips. Slight delays flying out of MCO, merely adequate seats, nickle-and-diming everything but generally nice, professional staff and cheap fares. The only reason I switched is when they stopped non-stops from LAX to MCO. And not just no non-stop flights; LAX to MCO 6 hours in DEN - MCO to LAX 8 hours in DEN.

I still recommend them. Even when I added on luggage and seat assignments the trips were less than other airlines. I'm okay with no frills.