Frontier Airlines, Was It Worth It?

Marsh215

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
I've booked with frontier for my partner and I and I'm currently anxious about my decision. I also plan on giving my review here once the experience is over.

The positive so far.

  • I like overnight flights when I travel east (last time was to London and it was the right choice for me, I've also done red eye to NYC and PHL and enjoyed the experience of waking up in a new city)
  • The price was good. I was able to book round trip flight + bags for two people for only $522
  • I've had at least one budget airline experience that was good (Norwegian Air, LAX to LGW)
The worries so far

  • I've found some reviews of Frontier that are making me nervous
  • I'm worried about flight delays
  • I don't know how well Frontier will work with Magic Express
  • I would have preferred a different departure airport (more of a nitpick than anything else)
My only questions so far are.
How well will this work with Magic Express since Frontier isn't a partner airline?
Have you had a good or bad experience with Frontier?
 
Things to be aware of when flying Frontier-----

You pay for carryons in the overhead.
You pay for checked luggage.
You pay for sodas/snacks.
You pay if you want a seat assignment.
Tray tables are TINY--about the size of a large coaster
Less recourse if your flight goes haywire (i.e. it's easier for Delta, American, etc to get you on another flight)

We have flown them a few times because the price was right. BUT, know that you get what you pay for!

If nothing goes wrong---it's a fine airline to fly.
 
I've booked with frontier for my partner and I and I'm currently anxious about my decision. I also plan on giving my review here once the experience is over.

The positive so far.

  • I like overnight flights when I travel east (last time was to London and it was the right choice for me, I've also done red eye to NYC and PHL and enjoyed the experience of waking up in a new city)
  • The price was good. I was able to book round trip flight + bags for two people for only $522
  • I've had at least one budget airline experience that was good (Norwegian Air, LAX to LGW)
The worries so far

  • I've found some reviews of Frontier that are making me nervous
  • I'm worried about flight delays
  • I don't know how well Frontier will work with Magic Express
  • I would have preferred a different departure airport (more of a nitpick than anything else)
My only questions so far are.
How well will this work with Magic Express since Frontier isn't a partner airline?
Have you had a good or bad experience with Frontier?
You've already booked the flight. Any change or cancellation now would be financially unwise due to the change/cancellation fees.
Relax and start to focus on planning your amazing WDW vacation.

You can use Disney's Magical Express (DME) for transportation for you and your luggage from MCO to your Disney resort, but you can't use Resort Airline Check-in (RAC) to check your luggage in at the resort and get boarding passes since frontier isn't a Partner Airline for this. (you will just take your luggage on the DME bus from your resort and check it in at the Airline counter in the airport.)

Oh and stop reading any of those reviews of Frontier, you're already booked and paid...nothing you can do about it now.
 
I have booked Frontier once and it wasn't overly pleasant. In fact I did decided not to use them for long flights in the future. But, we did also have some extras working against us. My kids and myself had gotten a terrible cold in Disneyworld and by time to come home we were so congested that even the most perfect flight would have been torture.

-I thought the kids (3 and 7 then) would sleep on a redeye. They didn't. They flopped around those uncomfortable 'no recline' seats like angry fishes all night trying to sleep but ultimately it wasn't gonna happen.

- Those stupid tray tables! They are about the size of a mans hand. Just barely big enough to hold a phone and a drink. And they don't lock in with a nob like others do. More importantly they are right at foot level of a toddler so every time my 3 year old would fidget or re-adjust herself in her seat she would kick into that tray table and it would flop down and wake the passengers nearby.

-They had less leg room and comfortable seats in general.

Maybe on a 2 hour or less flight I would consider it but never again for the 8+ hour journey from Portland, Or. And Frontier has the cheapest flights too for us. I frequently can find round trips for $220 with them when the other airlines are $270+. At this point in my life it's worth an extra 200-300 bucks to get a slightly more comfortable flight.
 


Things to be aware of when flying Frontier-----

...

We have flown them a few times because the price was right. BUT, know that you get what you pay for!

If nothing goes wrong---it's a fine airline to fly.

That was it, the price is right. I certainly know I wont get any frills included, or food, or drink.

You've already booked the flight. Any change or cancellation now would be financially unwise due to the change/cancellation fees.
Relax and start to focus on planning your amazing WDW vacation.

You can use Disney's Magical Express (DME) for transportation for you and your luggage from MCO to your Disney resort, but you can't use Resort Airline Check-in (RAC) to check your luggage in at the resort and get boarding passes since frontier isn't a Partner Airline for this. (you will just take your luggage on the DME bus from your resort and check it in at the Airline counter in the airport.)

Oh and stop reading any of those reviews of Frontier, you're already booked and paid...nothing you can do about it now.

Thank you for confirming about DME, I thought that was how it works.
I am certainly going to stop reading the reviews, what I've taken away from those the most is that I need to have managed expectations. I've flown budget and I am pretty sure I know what to expect, but frontier is new for me.

Thanks for the replies.
 
I fly Frontier almost exclusively from the Northeast to Orlando. The flight prices have been dramatically cheaper than other airlines in our area. I too read many bad reviews, but have thankfully only had really good experiences. First, most of the bad reviews are griping about the pricing. Frontier is a discount airline and does what is basically ala carte pricing. Meaning you pay only for what you want or need. If you need everything and extra bags, etc. it might not be the cheapest option. But as I've learned to travel with minimal baggage it's worked out to be exceptionally cheaper. Know the fees ahead of time and you'll be less shocked in the end. Use backpacks or similar sized bags for carry on for free if they fit their measurements and go beneath the seat in front of you. We pack as much as we can this way and never pay for a carry on. If we need more we try and combine and take just 1 large checked bag rather than pay for 3 or more smaller ones.

The flights themselves have been great, no issues there. Flight attendants have been top notch. Seats are definitely not very comfortable but for the incredible savings I can deal with it. I'm not aching or anything after my flights. Tiny tray tables are a complete non-issue for me. Customer service when we had to cancel and use their emergency cancellation fee waiver was excellent as well.

As someone pointed out DME works the same you just can't check your bags at the resort for your return flight. And Frontier is the furthest counter at the airport on the opposite end of the airport from where DME drops you off so book it if you don't get there early. But we've never had much of a line when we've flown.
 
The biggest worry I would have about using Frontier is that as a budget carrier, they do not "play well with others" meaning that if you flight is canceled, they will just try to book you on the next available flight, which might be the next day, or maybe 3 days later, since flights almost always fly full nowadays. So on your way to WDW, a sudden mechanical failure or a weather issue might mean missing two days of vacation. And the only legal thing Frontier has to do is get you on the next available flight, or refund your money. If you take the refund, you now have to pay the very expensive walk up rates on another airline.
 


Our son and his family are flying Frontier next week. They are driving 4 hours to catch their 2 hour flight.
It was all about the price.
They made sure there is another flight later that day in case something happens to the early flight.
Please report back after your flight!
 
Flew Frontier to MCO from Charlotte July 4th weekend, for the first time. Had great flights there and back! Would definitely book with them again!
 
I was excited to see that they are coming to BUF but upon further research I determined that this was not an airline we would use. Perhaps 15 years ago we would have, but there are too many issues for my comfort. One of my big worries would be cancellations and delays. There is one flight in and out of Buffalo to/from Orlando. I've also noticed that their prices, outside of the occasional code, aren't really that great. After paying for carry on or checked luggage the prices start falling in line with other airlines.

This is a great option if your budget is tight and you can be a bit flexible.
 
I only flew Frontier once, and if you go in expecting no frills and what not, it's not that bad.

GF and I paid 70$ combined for a one way flight to Atlanta from Trenton, NJ to pick up a car we bought, then drove back home while stopping to see family in North Carolina.

We're flying Frontier home to NJ from Disney in September, but will be taking JetBlue down to Orlando.

The one thing I really enjoyed about flying Frontier at least for us, is that they fly out of a super tiny airport near our home, that only has 3 gates, and gets very little traffic. It was so nice pretty much getting dropped off at the door, go down one flight of stairs, go through security which there is usually a line that is nonexistent, and boom you're at the gate ready to go. I will say the one benefit of using those small municipal airports is that everyone there tends to be a lot happier. Guess that has to do with the fact they only get 10% of the traffic a place like Newark or JFK would get.
 
I've never flown Frontier to Orlando, but I have used it elsewhere. I had as good or better of a flight experience with them as with many other major airlines.
 
The one thing I really enjoyed about flying Frontier at least for us, is that they fly out of a super tiny airport near our home, that only has 3 gates, and gets very little traffic. It was so nice pretty much getting dropped off at the door, go down one flight of stairs, go through security which there is usually a line that is nonexistent, and boom you're at the gate ready to go. I will say the one benefit of using those small municipal airports is that everyone there tends to be a lot happier. Guess that has to do with the fact they only get 10% of the traffic a place like Newark or JFK would get.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I love flying the small municipal airports, Santa Rosa, Burbank, Santa Ana, etc. I think that as general advise people should try flying municipal more. Actually strike that, I don't want my local airport to get too crowded.

I've never flown Frontier to Orlando, but I have used it elsewhere. I had as good or better of a flight experience with them as with many other major airlines.

I'm glad to hear that you have had decent experiences. It makes me feel a bit more reassured when folks chime in with their positive experiences.
 
We are booked on Frontier for girls trip in October-even with bags it was way less than any other airline. I did spring for the "travel insurance" and paid for it with a travel CC (that has trip insurance JIC). I've flown them to Las Vegas in past without any issues.
wondering if anyone who's had issues has bought Frontier's insurance?
 
We are booked on Frontier for girls trip in October-even with bags it was way less than any other airline. I did spring for the "travel insurance" and paid for it with a travel CC (that has trip insurance JIC). I've flown them to Las Vegas in past without any issues.
wondering if anyone who's had issues has bought Frontier's insurance?

I have never purchased their insurance, but mainly because they have an Emergency Cancellation policy unlike most airlines and I'd only ever cancel or move for one of the reasons covered. I did have to postpone a trip last year because I came down with the flu just a day before we were supposed to travel. Frontier customer service was awesome about it. I just faxed over a letter from my doctor indicating that I was unable to fly and was diagnosed with Influence B and they issued my credit within minutes and waived the change fee. I would assume their insurance should work just as well.
 
I do buy trip insurance if the cost of the flight is greater than I'm willing to lose if the truly unexpected happens. Life comes at you fast. It's a decision you have to make for yourself, but I travel more comfortably knowing that I have insurance covering expensive flights/trips.
 
Our son and his family are flying Frontier next week. They are driving 4 hours to catch their 2 hour flight.
It was all about the price.
They made sure there is another flight later that day in case something happens to the early flight.
Please report back after your flight!

Later Flight doesn't equal availability of seats. If they are really concerned about something happening with their flight, they may want another back up plan. It would be a pain to drive four hours back home for the next available flight or flights as you could easily be placed on multiple. Not trying to scare you but a four hour drive with limited options would scare me!
 
Later Flight doesn't equal availability of seats. If they are really concerned about something happening with their flight, they may want another back up plan. It would be a pain to drive four hours back home for the next available flight or flights as you could easily be placed on multiple. Not trying to scare you but a four hour drive with limited options would scare me!

Their first flight went well!
Here's hoping their flight home goes okay, they have a wedding to go to the night they get home.
To be young and live without worry!
 
I do buy trip insurance if the cost of the flight is greater than I'm willing to lose if the truly unexpected happens. Life comes at you fast. It's a decision you have to make for yourself, but I travel more comfortably knowing that I have insurance covering expensive flights/trips.

We book our flights with our Citicard that has trip cancellation and interruption coverage. For the trip I mentioned canceling above, one leg was on Frontier and the other on American. Frontier refunded us with no problem but American wanted $200 each to change flights and our tickets were only half that. We filed with the credit card company and had a refund pretty quickly. Their coverage is pretty decent and handles more than flights. Something else for people to consider if they are unsure about buying travel insurance.
 
We book our flights with our Citicard that has trip cancellation and interruption coverage. For the trip I mentioned canceling above, one leg was on Frontier and the other on American. Frontier refunded us with no problem but American wanted $200 each to change flights and our tickets were only half that. We filed with the credit card company and had a refund pretty quickly. Their coverage is pretty decent and handles more than flights. Something else for people to consider if they are unsure about buying travel insurance.


I rely on my CC travel insurance as well, so far I have yet to make a claim.
 
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