Frontier Airlines

[DVCjj]

Curious what is hard to figure out with SW? I fly SW a lot so maybe I'm just used to it. You get your 2 free checked bags. Flights are super easy to change/cancel & you get credit or refund depending on what kind of ticket you booked. You check in 24hrs before the flight to get your boarding position, then board & pick seats in order. They've got it down to a science so the boarding process at the gate is quite smooth.

It's my fear of the unknown, I guess. (old...like uncomplicated things). When I saw the 24 hour thing, I just presumed everyone would do the same thing...even at a small price...and it would still be a mad scramble at the airport. Especially with families getting priority.

I thank you for taking the time to encourage me to seriously look into it. I'm the one who makes all travel arrangements for DH who travels occasionally with me and (adult) DD who travels quite a bit to Disney with me. I'm always tense about trying to have things run smoothly (for them) as I'm one of those people who bring their own pressure on themselves. Gee, wonder why I suffer from headaches...

Thanks.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I always get the cheapest SW tier - I book with points so it is fully refundable even at the lowest price point.

We just check in at 24hrs ahead. Set an alarm to remind. When you check in, it hives your whole party consecutive boarding numbers. My typical travel party is 2 adults and I think we've sat together all but once or twice - towards the back of the plane, but I'd rather be in the back with my friend than in a middle seat between strangers. They have the boarding group numbers on posts at the gate as you get ready to board, so everyone lines up at their number with no mad scramble or jockeying for position. It is minimal stress.

They're really good with communication of changes before the flight. If they do change your flight's time, you can switch to any other open flight within 2 weeks flying the same route - including a flight that costs triple and is at a much better time - at no additional charge. I got an email from them once because they pushed our arrival time forward 7min - not departure, just arrival. I mean, who really cares if the plane arrives 7min early? Technically we could have used that change to switch flights though.

I've found most flights leave on time, except for the 9pm layover flight from Baltimore to Providence - that one is usually delayed by an hour or so. Just that one, and consistently that one...

 

[Lesverts]

Your first time on Southwest is always going to be an experience. It is an experience. But never had a problem when I've flown them.

 

[disneyfan007]

I have flown Frontier before without a problem. The same flight number every time from my local airport. However, two weeks ago they cancelled my 8:00 flight at 1:00. That was it, end of discussion. I had family waiting for me at Disney already. I ended booking thru AA at a considerable cost increase because it was the same day. I did ended up getting refunded my points and a $200 voucher. I don’t know that I will ever fly Frontier again.

 

[ClapYourHands]

I have flown Frontier before without a problem. The same flight number every time from my local airport. However, two weeks ago they cancelled my 8:00 flight at 1:00. That was it, end of discussion. I had family waiting for me at Disney already. I ended booking thru AA at a considerable cost increase because it was the same day. I did ended up getting refunded my points and a $200 voucher. I don’t know that I will ever fly Frontier again.

Was there any chance to rebook on another Frontier flight or did it immediately go to refund?

 

[Dakota731]

I’ve flown Frontier several times with no issues.

When I used Frontier out of Tampa it was definitely passengers that were the problem not the staff. There were NUMEROUS announcements about the personal items, and the wording is all over website about personal items, and the ability to check for yourself if your bag fit long before the plane left.

Plain and simple, it was one family and one other guy throwing a fit and trying to argue their way out of the fee. They sat there with their comically large bags through all the same announcements I did. They knew.

No $10 commission would make staff want to deal with that nonsense. It was just another example of people being entitled.

That’s usually the case for a lot of people who think rules don’t apply to them. And it’s as time consuming on other airlines that allow huge carryons which so many people spend time trying to shove into the overhead compartment blocking aisles and delaying departure. Then they spend five more minutes taking stuff out of said oversized bag for their flight.

 

[DVCjj]

I promise this is the last SW question from a total novice.

Why do I constantly see on this board that SW "is releasing their dates". (everyone gets excited)
Why do they 'release' dates? I've never known any other airline to do this so it's foreign to me to understand.

Thank you again for any answers.

 

[ClapYourHands]

I promise this is the last SW question from a total novice.

Why do I constantly see on this board that SW "is releasing their dates". (everyone gets excited)
Why do they 'release' dates? I've never known any other airline to do this so it's foreign to me to understand.

Thank you again for any answers.

All airlines, to an extent, release their dates in batches. Like if you wanted to book on Frontier for next February, you couldn’t because those aren’t available to book yet. Booking early can get you good prices on SW, and people like to jump on low rates.

I think the main reason is SW allows you to rebook if the prices go down and put the difference into a travel credit. So if you grab a flight you want (good time, no connections, etc.) at a price you can live with, you can go ahead and book it, knowing that you might be able to get a lower price later without losing your convenient flight. With many other airlines once you book that’s it, so people are more likely to try to wait and guess when the best prices might be while they’ll jump on SW as soon as the dates are available.

 

[DVCjj]

All airlines, to an extent, release their dates in batches. Like if you wanted to book on Frontier for next February, you couldn’t because those aren’t available to book yet. Booking early can get you good prices on SW, and people like to jump on low rates.

I think the main reason is SW allows you to rebook if the prices go down and put the difference into a travel credit. So if you grab a flight you want (good time, no connections, etc.) at a price you can live with, you can go ahead and book it, knowing that you might be able to get a lower price later without losing your convenient flight. With many other airlines once you book that’s it, so people are more likely to try to wait and guess when the best prices might be while they’ll jump on SW as soon as the dates are available.

Great information. Honestly different from my UA & AA which I am very used to their tips and tricks. SW is all new to me and appreciate the help. By the game UA is now playing, I'm definitely going to look into SW, especially since I've gained knowledge here I didn't have.
Thanks again.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I went on last night to double check my upcoming SW flights around Halloween - one flight went down $5. Click change flight, select the same flight, and saved $10 on 2 tickets in 2 minutes. It's even more pronounced when they do a big deal - Saved about $70 one way for 2 minutes effort that time. Can't beat it. And it's booked/rebooked with points, so I don't have to even remember/save credit voucher numbers or anything.

 

[Rob Huff]

I have flown Frontier before without a problem. The same flight number every time from my local airport. However, two weeks ago they cancelled my 8:00 flight at 1:00. That was it, end of discussion. I had family waiting for me at Disney already. I ended booking thru AA at a considerable cost increase because it was the same day. I did ended up getting refunded my points and a $200 voucher. I don’t know that I will ever fly Frontier again.

We had this happen on a Florida trip. A week out, Frontier e-mailed that they had "changed the time" of our flight. I was bummed by that headline but figured it meant we'd either need to leave for the airport earlier or lose a few hours in Florida on our arrival day.

Well, Frontier had different ideas. The "time" moved from 8am on Thursday to...10am...on Friday! That's not a time change. That's 26 hours later. That's a different day.

This wasn't a weather or a mechanical issue.

Never again.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Frontier baggage reconnaissance outing:

I bought a backpack from Amazon that is meant to be the right size to fit in the sizer. I did a mock pack, not overstuffed, cinched the side buckles, and brought it to the airport.

It fit in the Frontier sizer with a small amount of readjustment to get the backpack straps out of the way, but no pushing. I could definitely fit more in the bag than I allowed myself but wanted to pack conservatively.

I spoke with the ticket desk agent (not gate agent as I didn’t go past security), and asked for her thoughts on my bag and the reports I’d heard about sizing enforcement. She said that at this airport (BDL), you’re okay as long as you can get the bag in the sizer, even if you have to push. “If you can get it in, we don’t care how you do it.” She added that she has heard other airports’ agents have been more difficult, and in her words, “really rude” about the sizer. So it sounds like there a lot of variation based on the culture of the different crews.

I also tried my bag in Spirit’s personal item sizer. My bag went in much more smoothly, and had room left over. Despite the same published dimension limits (18x14x8), Frontier’s sizer is smaller than Spirit’s. I did not have a measuring tape to determine if that’s because Frontier is shorting the dimensions slightly or if Spirit is giving a little bit of wiggle room to it’s customers, but they are not quite the same.

 

[Dakota731]

Great information. Honestly different from my UA & AA which I am very used to their tips and tricks. SW is all new to me and appreciate the help. By the game UA is now playing, I'm definitely going to look into SW, especially since I've gained knowledge here I didn't have.
Thanks again.

I like the fact that with SW you can get credit if fares drop. However my last few trips AA and UA have had cheaper rates by a big difference so it pays to do the math!

 

[Dakota731]

OP here with still no answer to my original question. I don’t understand why no new flights have dropped in months. We have our arrival flight but nothing online yet for departure. I called and of course the clerk had no idea when new dates would be posted. Seems odd to me since Frontier usually lists six months out.

 

[Anthony1971]

So here is my take. I fly neither Frontier nor Southwest although I did fly Southwest twice on one leg of each trip. With a side note Southwest is just not cheap or cheap enough to matter where we are. Frontier: if you do not know the rules and or are unwilling to understand them and how to get the best prices on each part (yes inconveniences) do not fly them. Southwest : Buy the early bird and you take all the stress out of sitting together with no seat assignments. All other airlines get their credit card with an annual fee and you get checked bags and other benefits.

 

[WhenYouWishUponAStar]

Anyone know when winter dates will be released? Their flights are less than a third of the cost of Southwest for us so I’m getting impatient waiting!

I've been obsessively checking Frontier but still no flights have been announced past November 15, 2023. So frustrating since our trip starts the end of November. We really need affordable non-stop flights and there are fewer and fewer non-stops from our area (Cleveland). Anyone have any inside info about Frontier opening winter flights?

 

[Robbie Cottam]

When we started dating, My wife asked me what I thought, I said they are a ….. well let’s say not good….
she said but they are cheap…. I said yes…

‘’anyway day of the flight they first delay then cancel her flight…. Next flight they offered her was after her return.
Her, 3 kids, an au pair, she had to buy American tickets anyway…
I told her to cancel the return, and buy new tickets home…. Same story…. Flight delayed then canceled… next flight they could put her on was 4 days later….

not flying them cost her twice as much as if she had bought ticket with a good carrier in the first place….
this to happen 2 more times before she figured it out….

 

[Dakota731]

I've been obsessively checking Frontier but still no flights have been announced past November 15, 2023. So frustrating since our trip starts the end of November. We really need affordable non-stop flights and there are fewer and fewer non-stops from our area (Cleveland). Anyone have any inside info about Frontier opening winter flights?

Same here! I’m thinking it will be tomorrow or Tuesday since they released last batch on April 11. We flew them last year with no issues and paid $49 compared to SW which was $253.

 

[ClapYourHands]

When we started dating, My wife asked me what I thought, I said they are a ….. well let’s say not good….
she said but they are cheap…. I said yes…

‘’anyway day of the flight they first delay then cancel her flight…. Next flight they offered her was after her return.
Her, 3 kids, an au pair, she had to buy American tickets anyway…
I told her to cancel the return, and buy new tickets home…. Same story…. Flight delayed then canceled… next flight they could put her on was 4 days later….

not flying them cost her twice as much as if she had bought ticket with a good carrier in the first place….
this to happen 2 more times before she figured it out….

It is a risk, but sometimes it’s an acceptable risk. I’m going down for an 8 day trip. If they cancel and can put me on the next day’s flight, we go home and comeback tomorrow. If they can’t get us on for two or more days, we get in the car and drive the 20 hours down. If I’m down there, and the flight is cancelled, there are two other airports within a few hours’ drive that Frontier has daily flights that they could reroute me to.

If I were flying across the country or over water or to a very time-sensitive thing like a wedding or major holiday, I’d make a different choice. But there’s still risk with other carriers. In my St. Croix group, one person had to scrap his trip when AA cancelled his flight and couldn’t get him on another for several days. It’s all about the cost and benefit balance and your tolerance for risk.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

It is a risk, but sometimes it’s an acceptable risk. I’m going down for an 8 day trip. If they cancel and can put me on the next day’s flight, we go home and comeback tomorrow. If they can’t get us on for two or more days, we get in the car and drive the 20 hours down. If I’m down there, and the flight is cancelled, there are two other airports within a few hours’ drive that Frontier has daily flights that they could reroute me to.

If I were flying across the country or over water or to a very time-sensitive thing like a wedding or major holiday, I’d make a different choice. But there’s still risk with other carriers. In my St. Croix group, one person had to scrap his trip when AA cancelled his flight and couldn’t get him on another for several days. It’s all about the cost and benefit balance and your tolerance for risk.

But that is the thing, they can’t get you on tomorrows flight…. Usually, when they cancel a flight it is 2 to 4 days….