Frontier Airlines Sucks is part of the Reunion Tour Trip Report.
Frontier sucks. But we already knew that:
- What’s the Worst Discount Carrier?
- Post TPOL, Frontier Erases Alfredo’s Adventure to Puerto Rico
- Frontier Airlines: The Covid Super Spreader for Puerto Rico
- Frontier: Rivaling Allegiant For Worst Airline
What I forgot is how much it sucks.
I booked a flight to Phoenix on Frontier not solely because of the price but because of the convenient routing (see Back to Phoenix on Frontier).
Seats
The best way to describe the seat is a bus stop bench. It is inhumane to think that humans can sit for more than ten minutes in this chair. There is not an option to recline at all.
TPOL’s Tip: Don’t go to the west coast from Puerto Rico. It’s far too long of a journey for little reward.
Fees
I once wrote, Free without the ‘R’ spells FEE. That hasn’t changed. Since I was importing some workout equipment back to Puerto Rico, I had to check a bag. I used my Amex platinum credits to purchase that bag along with a carry-on. Somehow that costs $196!
That price does not include seat assignment. I found that out the hard way. On my connection from MCO to PHX, the machine went eh, eh. The gate agent handed me another ticket. I thought I had been upgraded, if there is such a thing. I was not. Instead, my aisle seat in the middle of the plane was replaced with a middle seat all the way in the back of the plane. Bamboozled, I asked the flight attendant how I could receive a downgrade. He said that since I did not pay for a seat assignment, they have the right to throw me anywhere they want.
Service
That wasn’t the only example of bristly customer service. When we landed in Orlando, an eager passenger, understandably anxious to get off this hell airline, attempted to retrieve his bag before the plane had come to a complete stop.
The flight attendant sternly screamed, “Sit down!” She tried to soften her stance by following up with, “We don’t want anyone injured before they can enjoy Orlando.”
Sleep
The flight back to San Juan was even worse. I was in the back of the plane in an aisle seat sharing the bus bench with a huge guy who was encroaching on the small space that I did have. Why he put his tiny son in the window and himself in the middle is a mystery. If I was uncomfortable then he must have been in agony. I tried to implement my Kama Sutra for sleeping on planes but nothing worked (see The Kama Sutra of Airplane Sleep: Surviving a 17 Hour Flight). There is nothing worse than being exhausted and not being able to sleep. It is torture.
Advice
If you are going to fly Frontier, I have some advice for you.
Don’t.
If you choose not to listen to that advice then do the following:
Sit next to a drunk. On the way to Phoenix, the person next to me started the flight by asking for 3 Tanqueray’s and a beer. And then he ordered another round and another. I was waiting for him to be cut off or go berserk or both. Neither happened. Instead, he ordered more. Bored of drinking alone, the friendly drunk offered me gin, and more gin, and more gin. I was beginning to enjoy Frontier.
If you’re not lucky enough to sit next to a generous drunkard, be sure to download your own entertainment. There is no wifi or IFE on Frontier.
Overall
Frontier is true hell. To punctuate this point, Frontier offered me $800 to give up my seat back to SJU and fly the next day. When I learned it was in the form of a voucher, I politely declined.
Learned that lesson long time ago when I flew Spirit, only once! I’d rather save that money (if you learned all their rules and not being charged for every tiny thing) on other stuff so I don’t need to torture myself for a flight like that.
The bigger lesson is don’t fly to the west coast from PR. My Vegas days are over.
I have wanted to visit Puerto Rico and the Yunque rainforest for a long time (I live on the west coast). The Tanqueray part of the story was funny. I saw there is 0.0 Tanqueray at the Duty Free Shop in SFO. I really wanted to try it but did not want to invest in a large bottle. If only the planes started carrying it as their inflight beverage!
I live across the street from the rainforest. And have not tried that gin yet.
Frontier experiences are well documented. The moral of this story is – Do your research before buying. Yes they are an awful experience, but if you research beforehand and have proper expectations set, you won’t be disappointed as expectations will be close to nothing.
That’s not the take away. Did you read the post?
Frontier sucks. But we already knew that:
What I forgot is how much it sucks (emphasis added).
No one is duped or fooled into taking Frontier. We block out old memories and convince ourselves it can’t be that bad.
I’m sorry, but how is that a new thing? Frontier has been around how long and you just decided to complain? Haven’t you read about why you were getting yourself into when buying your airplane ticket? I feel like this article was created for the lack of anything else to complain about lol
If you don’t bother reading the article or the comments, why comment? What you wrote was addressed in the article. And it’s not from nothing to write about. Do you think I book flights just to write reviews? Again, it was in the post. Can’t have a discussion if you don’t read.
I flew Frontier a few times back when Jesus was in diapers and Frontier was a full-service airline and always had a very comfortable, positive experience. It almost pains me to hear what they’ve become. But, so many people want the super-cheap fare but not the corresponding super-cheap experience.
I continue to say that people want cheap fares but underestimate how bad the service will be.
[…] Breaking News: Frontier Airlines Sucks: This post on The Points of Life made me chuckle. My family has flown on Frontier to Denver and Orlando in the past, and it’s […]
Flew both Spirit and Frontier ONCE and only once. They are both so terrible it amazes me they are still in the air. How people can put up with their terrible service and treatment is beyond me.
You can redeem Chase UR for Frontier flight. With a family of four, not everyone needs to carry on, nor check, a bag, and the math starts to lean in Frontier’s favor.
nah, F9 is not bad for the price / savings — >$200 r/t — flew 4 times so far this yr but no issues; saved almost $1k so far than to fly WN or UA
If you can tolerate the city bus or subway….you can tolerate F9
For someone who is used to traveling in business or first class, this article and one attempted booking on Frontier was enough to make me change my mind. I think I would rather take a school bus full of rowdy kids to my destination.
Yes. I believe that airline is called Vueling with direct flights from BCN to Ibiza!