REview Frontier Airlines

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Originally Posted by madRiver
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.


I love reading these things. My experience was exactly the opposite.
1) By the time I was charged for the check-in and carry on, the cost was equal to the same route on American.
2) I really don't care about which plane I'm on. Just give me enough legroom for a 6'4" frame. On Frontier my knees were against the seat in front of me. I just flew American over the weekend and I had about 2-3" in front of my knees. Huge difference. The Frontier seats are like sitting on cardboard and are like 90 degrees upright. It was the longest three hours of my life.
3) I found the crew on board to be more concerned with me applying for the credit card than doing anything else. It was probably mentioned 6-8 times and they went seat to seat asking you. It was like they were on commission for credit apps.
4) The check in process was horrible. I don't need to wait 20 minutes to meet someone face to face to get checked in. A portal can do it in 2 minutes. Much more efficient.
5) The pilot's job is to get me to my destination safely. If he doesn't want to chit chat, that's fine by me. I'm just happy I made it to where I'm going and need to get a move on.

Just for giggles, I just now tried both AA and Frontier for 6 days in August from O'Hare to Cancun. Frontier was $483 with a checked bag and a carry on item. AA was $436 at the price level where I get to pick a seat, but I'd pay $30 each way for a checked bag, so it would be $496. Frontier was a total of $13 cheaper. No thanks.
 
Concur on checking prices.

At $60 per person round trip with 1 checked bag and decent service my experience was great. They asked once about credit card but so does "mainstream" airlines.
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
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.


Totally understood what we were getting. The return flight was only concern of mine with airline as I was flying direct only PSM <> MCO and airpor(PSM) t is 15mins from home and a2.75hr flight.

I would only do SLC with Frontier is they flew direct. I only use JetBlue or Delta to BOS<>SLC as direct is only way to go.
 
On any domestic flight the things I would look for are good customer service and prompt handling of check in and boarding. I would not expect any comfort in the seat unless you pay for business if it's a option. Eat in the terminal or bring a snack. Noise cancelling headphones or buds are essential.
 
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Delta has the prettiest flight attendants, so does American Airlines....



Oh my are we ALLOWED to comment on such things today?

I so wish we were back in the 1960s and 1970s when the stewardesses took pride in their attractiveness.
Why was that a "bad" thing?

I was too young to remember National and PSA when they had some amazing looking girls on their flights.
 
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I do remember the pretty stewardesses flying on Western Airlines way back in the 70's headed to boot camp.

Western Airlines, the ooooonly way to fly.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
I do remember the pretty stewardesses flying on Western Airlines way back in the 70's headed to boot camp.

Western Airlines, the ooooonly way to fly.



Wow I missed out and was born way too late, we get the luxury of feminism today. Ugh
sick.gif
 
From the 1940s through the early 1970s, United flight attendants had to weigh in for each trip. They would step on a scale in the presence of a manager at their home base before beginning their assignment.

This was eliminated in the 1970s as "discriminatory".

I have to pass a complete physical every six months, but Flight Attendants, who are there "primarily for your safety" don't have to demonstrate that they can physically fit in the aisle...
 
Being 6'6", I won't step foot on Spirit or Frontier planes given the seat pitch if I can help it!

Southwest for me all day, every day. Especially if I can book on the -800's they are far more roomy, even for me. No change fees, no bag fees, boarding process is the best in the industry as far as I'm concerned. Last few flights I was able to grab exit row or the very front to boot, plenty of room to stretch the legs out. Nothing but great experiences with Southwest.

Doesn't hurt that their credit card is quite amazing and I have been taking free flights for over a year and a half now just on points, with over 100,000 still available for use between myself and the SO. Won't be paying for another year or two, at the minimum! Credit card was worth it…

I'd fly Frontier or Spirit for a quick weekend jaunt somewhere if they flew direct for dirt cheap… But ideally, under an hour and a half if I'm crammed in with 28-30" pitch.
 
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There is NOWHERE in this world that I would like to or need to visit that involves flying. I guess that is why I haven't been over a hundred miles from home in twenty some years. No matter who dies, I won't be at the funeral, and I don't expect anyone to be at mine. Up the stack and sprinkler the cremains in the flower gardens.
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
From the 1940s through the early 1970s, United flight attendants had to weigh in for each trip. They would step on a scale in the presence of a manager at their home base before beginning their assignment.

This was eliminated in the 1970s as "discriminatory".

I have to pass a complete physical every six months, but Flight Attendants, who are there "primarily for your safety" don't have to demonstrate that they can physically fit in the aisle...


I'm not a hardcore flyer, but I do maintain a gold status on one major domestic airline. I can't recall seeing many attendants that are sufficiently chunky as to not fit in the aisle. Plenty of riders encroaching into my seat with spillover blubber.

At the same time, the seats are small enough that my 6yo is barely able to pick a dropped item off the floor in an airplane while sitting, let alone an adult.
 
Originally Posted by Yah-Tah-Hey
There is NOWHERE in this world that I would like to or need to visit that involves flying. I guess that is why I haven't been over a hundred miles from home in twenty some years. No matter who dies, I won't be at the funeral, and I don't expect anyone to be at mine. Up the stack and sprinkler the cremains in the flower gardens.


So many beautiful places to see and things to do in the US, let alone in the world. Is it because you have "been there and done that" twenty plus years ago? Or just never had any desire to see or do anything outside of the Nebraska bubble?
 
JHZR2 - Most of our flight attendants are wonderful, caring, hard-working people. I don't care about age, gender (including identity), ethnicity, or any of that stuff, I only care if they can do the job and that they treat the customers well.

However, there exists very few means to remove the ones who don't fit the above description. I have worked with FAs who genuinely cannot fit in the aisle or through the cockpit door.

That's a problem.

Just as having a person who is so advanced in years that they cannot open the emergency exit is a problem. I have to retire when I turn 65. Safety. This limitation exists only for pilots.

If you're in a safety-sensitive job, you have to be able to physically DO the job...

This is an issue for companies like American, Delta, United, et. al. Because of bankruptcies, wage cuts, the elimination of pensions, etc. FAs are staying on the job far longer than they once did.

Not a problem for Jet Blue or Spirit, who can hire young, eager, new folks (and they do). The entire workforce at Jet Blue has been there for less than 20 years. Our average FA has been on the job for over 20 years.

So, when comparing airlines that haven't existed for long, with the carriers that have, the comparison of FAs is, at best, skewed by demographics.
 
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