REview Frontier Airlines

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Andrew1972

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My wife booked a trip from Portsmouth, NH(formerly Pease AFB) to Orlando Internationa Round Tripl for $300 including one checked bag(50lbs!) for a family of 5.

We all carried personal items (backpacks) with a few articles because they charge for carry-on.

Review:
Plane was airbus A321 relatively new and actually cleaner then recent normal carriers. The seats were poorly padded but tolerable for 2.5 hrs, thin and had a half tray not able to hold a lapto properly (screen tilted down) so had to use lap. No tv screens.

The cabin crew was better then United, Delta and America I have flown recently. Not jaded lifers. I chatted with stewardess who was working on online college courses to move on from career. Pilot was entertaining and engaging. The checkin process was flawless and easy.

For the paltry airfare wonderful but I do understand if something goes amiss with flight they attempt to rebook you however mostly refund your small fare and then you are stuck.
 
We rode Frontier to Cancun, Mexico. Crew commented it was an new plane. Seats did not recline. Seat padding was almost nothing on top of a fiberglass formed shape similar to what you have in kindergarten. Most uncomfortable. I won't fly Frontier unless it is a major $ savings off the alternatives.
 
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
aIRbUS sucks!


The single aisle Airbus doesn't suck any more than the B737 does.
Not much to choose between them.
Pretty interchangeable for airlines and their passengers alike.
 
I flew Spirit and Frontier to Orlando. If you think Frontier seats are thin on the cushioning...Spirit is worse.

But the crew was very friendly and nice on the flights. Set my wife and up with Buzz Bombs on the way down.
 
Forgot to mention seats don't recline and I LOVE IT. Nothing worst then a normal airline seat who has a passenger recline a seat into you making tight space feel tighter. You definitely don't feel tight on Frontier.
 
They are the only ones to offer a non stop AUS to BUF flight, so I took that back and forth several times.

New plane, uncomfortable seating, probably safer than Allegiant.

To save 3-4 hours I'll take them every time.
 
I have two rules when flying. I don't fly Frontier or SouthWest. Just about all airlines have reduced the weight of seat cushions and have taken away "seat pitch". The vast majority of coach seating is downright miserable.
 
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Southwest has more seat pitch than any of the legacies do in coach.
If you want Southwest levels of room on one of these airlines, you have to pay more for an enhanced economy seat.
Let's not even talk about the cost to check a bag, free on Southwest.
Don't know why you'd put Southwest in the same sentence as Frontier. DL, UA and AA would be more appropriate analogs for junk fees and lack of leg room.
Southwest is our go-to in most cases, for total cost, schedule and flexibility without charge.
Our two rules when traveling are to consider total cost and schedule.
 
I prefer Southwest because they don't nickle and dime you for everything, and they are usually on time and board very quickly. Delta is pretty good too. I've only had good experiences on American for long international flights on their 787's. Domestic is not great. United is bad for everything.
 
I just flew from Grand Rapids to Orlando and back on Frontier. I would never do it again. Plane was dirty, full of crying kids, seats near the gate was littered with food crumbs and we were packed in like sardines on the plane. Never again.
 
I tried Frontier last year and I felt the same as others here. Thin padded hard plastic seats and no real room for your legs. Think greyhound bus that flys. It is ok for a real short flight under 2 hours but any longer is not worth the saving for me.
 
If I'm flying coach, I'd much rather be on Southwest than United, American or Delta.
 
Originally Posted by madRiver
Forgot to mention seats don't recline and I LOVE IT. Nothing worst then a normal airline seat who has a passenger recline a seat into you making tight space feel tighter. You definitely don't feel tight on Frontier.


Unless you're over 5'8" - in which case, your knees hit the seat in front of you.... Frontier has one of the tightest seat pitches of any airline. Only Spirit is worse...

I'm always fascinated by the "junk fees" and "savings" discussion when it comes to legacy carriers, discounters like Frontier, and SWA.

My wife and I are traveling from ORF (Norfolk, VA) to SLC (Salt Lake City, UT) next month. During the week. booking 4 weeks out.

So far, in my search for flights: for 2 people, round trip, all fees included, traveling when we need to go:

SWA: $1,800
DAL: $1,400
UAL: $1,200

All outrageous, yes....but SWA is hardly a bargain (I chose the regular economy on DAL, and UAL, and my status on both allows free checked bags)...in fact they cost quite a bit more than Delta or United.

Oh, and Frontier? Yeah, they can't get me there on the same day...

Finally, and this is really important: Frontier doesn't do a good job when things go wrong. Case in point: Close friend from Denver Area flew on Frontier to Seattle to look at colleges during his daughter's spring break from High School. Return flight canceled.

After six hours on hold (yes, six) Frontier informed him that the FIRST flight they could re-book him on was TWO WEEKS later. Yep. Just take a couple of weeks to get home. Two weeks later. They were completely inflexible, re-stated their policy, and said two weeks. Just take a couple of weeks off from work. Miss a couple of weeks of school. Eat a couple of weeks of travel/per diem costs.

I flew him and his daughter out on a United Buddy pass the next day.

So, you may like them for cheap fares, and new flight attendants.

Good luck if you're my height, or if they cancel a flight.

Know what you are getting.
 
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Originally Posted by fdcg27
Southwest has more seat pitch than any of the legacies do in coach.
If you want Southwest levels of room on one of these airlines, you have to pay more for an enhanced economy seat.
Let's not even talk about the cost to check a bag, free on Southwest.
Don't know why you'd put Southwest in the same sentence as Frontier. DL, UA and AA would be more appropriate analogs for junk fees and lack of leg room.
Southwest is our go-to in most cases, for total cost, schedule and flexibility without charge.
Our two rules when traveling are to consider total cost and schedule.


Sorry..flying is miserable enough without knowing where I am going to sit.
 
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Originally Posted by CKN


Sorry..flying is miserable enough without knowing where I am going to sit.


So long as I've got a seat on the plane, I don't really care where I sit when the seats are all essentially the same. If you know how Southwest's system works, you can virtually always get a seat you want (with the exception of the exit rows). In flying near 100 southwest flights in my life, I've ended up with a middle seat once.

I appreciate the pricing model at Southwest, but there are destinations they aren't the cheapest at times, as pointed out by Astro.

As to frontier, when things are going right, they get you from A to B. Their seats are good for about 2 hours. When things go wrong, plan on being on your own with a plan B. Ditto for Spirit. The Big 3 (UA, DL, and AA) are better than any other airlines when things go wrong, just by size of network, options, etc. Southwest still lags in this arena.

That being said, when we've needed a flight on short notice for family emergencies, nobody has touched Frontier's fares - making things that financially appeared impossible doable. Wife had to fly around the time the basketball Final Four was here in town - and things were booked up tight and expensive. Frontier got my wife where she needed to be.

I look at it as all the airlines have their pluses and minuses. Before price, I prefer Southwest, then Delta, then United or American. Frontier, Spirit, and Sun Country (who used to be a favorite) are my bottom tier. Everyone else is generally too small a player in our Market to care about. Be glad you have a choice... (Usually). When you don't - look out!
 
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