I fly Frontier on occasion when it's like a 3 day weekend trip and I can pack everything in a backpack and not have to check bags/pay for one. I've never had any major issue with them. I also don't pay for a seat ahead of time since I generally fly them solo and don't care about getting 2 or 3 seats together.
Of course I fly them out of Denver which is a hub, so there are more options for flights for them than other cities.
We (family of 4) flew Frontier a few years ago. Non-stop from Orlando, FL to Ontario, CA. Red-eye to FL was brutal. There were no delays and we flew over Thanksgiving so that was good. The savings justified the pain, I guess.
I’m heading to Tampa alone in a few weeks. I seriously contemplated a flight home on Spirit just to see what it’s like and to save $300.
But if Spirit stranded me for any non-weather reason, I’d be paying United to get me home anyways. So I decided I don’t need to be a risk taker anymore and went ahead and just paid United for the round trip.
Frontier’s rebooking policies during Covid sucked, and I was going to never fly them again after that. but on shorter flights, when they are cheaper than southwest and at a good time, including the bundle to pick seats and check bags, we’ve caved and flown them. Including one a few weeks ago for me, and coming up in a few weeks for DH. Southwest out of Denver lately has been really high for reasonable departure times.
Staff was polite, friendly and professional. Seats are fine for average height me, they might be uncomfortable for DH.
Post by lightbulbsun on Mar 4, 2022 11:49:24 GMT -5
I fly frontier because they service a small local airport which is super convenient. The seats are not comfortable and the extra charges usually mean it's not much cheaper, but it's worth it for the convenience factor.
I guess I'll add - depending on where you are flying, it might make a difference. I know BWI always has several flights every day to the places I fly the most (Chicago and Houston) so Spirit has been a great option for me - if my flight did get cancelled, I am sure I could get on another just as quickly as I could with any other airline. If you are flying to a place that only has 1 Spirit flight each day, that might be a lot more risky. So, I'd check your destination airport and would feel comfortable if they have several flights daily.
TBH the budget airline hate always kind of gets my hackles up because it feels very classist. That's lovely if people can afford to pay hundreds of dollars more per trip for the pleasure of being crammed into coach seats on another airline - but that's not reality for most Americans. I've flown a bunch of times round trip for under $200 with Spirit and you rarely see that with any other airline.
I flew with Southwest on Wednesday and was crammed against a window with a screaming child kicking my seat for the entire flight - it's not like that was a great experience either!
Ok douche, go ahead and call it mud. My husband DID have halitosis. We addressed it after I talked to you girls on here and guess what? Years later, no problem. Mofongo, you're a cunt. Eat shit. ~anonnamus
We were supposed to be flying to Orlando next month, with Frontier for the first time. They just rescheduled both flights to a 5:30am departure time. I was able to cancel, and now we're flying Southwest.
I've flown Spirit 2x - once H and me from the Midwest to Las Vegas and another time to Orlando with kids and MIL. I just bought tickets for Spirit to fly to Orlando at the end of March with the family again. It was the only airline I could find with direct flights under $700.
For our trip to LV we were in the very back row and the seats were uncomfortable and I felt squished in. We also didn't realize it costs more if you wait until you are at the airport to pay for a checked bag, so lesson learned. But, there were no delays and crew was ok. Flight was crowded.
On our flight to Orlando we had absolutely no problems. While the seats didn't recline I thought they were comfortable - more ergonomic in a way - than American Airlines. Flight was on time. We paid to select seats but even with that it was cheaper than with other carriers. We chose to pay for 2 checked bags and each person had one personal item for free. My kids used their school backpacks for that.
I flew to Dallas over the summer and specifically avoided Spirit. I chose Southwest instead, which meant I had to change plans both ways. Guess which airline had a delay that day - Southwest. I made my connecting flight just in time. When I have issues with flying, it's usually related to non-direct flights where the first flight is delayed. When I'm traveling with kids I will not select a flight where I have to change planes.
Ok, got clarification. Frontier and Spirit merged, apparently. Those two he has serious safety concerns with, and will never fly. The planes are safe enough with the FAA regulations on maintenance, but behind the scenes on the ground it's.... questionable. Jetblue he's more middling on, apparently, and will fly them but they'll never be his first choice. They're safety and maintenance is better than Frontier/Spirit, but not as good as the bigger airlines.
Ok, got clarification. Frontier and Spirit merged, apparently. Those two he has serious safety concerns with, and will never fly. The planes are safe enough with the FAA regulations on maintenance, but behind the scenes on the ground it's.... questionable. Jetblue he's more middling on, apparently, and will fly them but they'll never be his first choice. They're safety and maintenance is better than Frontier/Spirit, but not as good as the bigger airlines.
Interesting. I had heard about safety concerns about Allegiant, but not Frontier (or Spirit). I wish I could tell you this information would be enough to get me to fly more expensive airlines, but I know me.
It's been awhile but I've flown both - Spirit moreso than Frontier. We've done trips with kids and never had a single problem....I realize were in the minority with this and probably won't fly them anymore just because we've been spoiled by Delta lately and have a larger travel budget now.
The biggest gripe I had was the 40lb weight limit for luggage on Spirit.
Post by Leeham Rimes on Mar 6, 2022 8:03:08 GMT -5
I’m looking at airfares again for July and I don’t see why people think that bigger airlines are better necessarily, but maybe I’m doing it wrong.
I’m looking at delta and I still have the same thing as with frontier. Do you want to pick seats? That’s an up grade. Do you want to be able to change your flight plans? That’s an upgrade. Carry on? Upgrade.
I just need cheap bc I want to spend my money on activities once I get to my destination.
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I’m looking at airfares again for July and I don’t see why people think that bigger airlines are better necessarily, but maybe I’m doing it wrong.
I’m looking at delta and I still have the same thing as with frontier. Do you want to pick seats? That’s an up grade. Do you want to be able to change your flight plans? That’s an upgrade. Carry on? Upgrade.
I just need cheap bc I want to spend my money on activities once I get to my destination.
I know delta the best so not sure about other airlines but basic economy allows you to take a carry-on. Where are you seeing that that’s an upgrade? But yes you’re right you have to get regular economy to get the option for no change fees, that’s not included in basic economy. With regular economy on delta you can pick your seat, have no change fees if you need to and bring a carry on. In general I find their customer service pretty good and have gotten flight credits and miles for minor changes.
I did once click through booking a spirit flight and it didn’t make it totally clear on the front page that the cheap price it advertised was the bare minimum and that you had to click through multiple times and by the time you were done the price was $250 more. On delta the main page does seem to lay out basic, economy, business class pretty clearly. I think spirit actually got in trouble for being sneaky about their pricing once.
I know for spirit they in general pay their pilots way less than other airlines so some people think they might not be as skilled and they have a higher amount of complaints than other airlines. So I think those are some things people take in to consideration.
I totally recognize my privilege and classism in choosing delta, british airways, etc when I fly. It’s nice to get status on airlines as well for the perks. Just like I no longer take the bus to other cities anymore and typically take Amtrak Acela. It’s definitely a privilege but am glad the less expensive/less frills options are available and I used to be a consumer of them as well, so judgement at all to those who choose those options.
I’m looking at airfares again for July and I don’t see why people think that bigger airlines are better necessarily, but maybe I’m doing it wrong.
I’m looking at delta and I still have the same thing as with frontier. Do you want to pick seats? That’s an up grade. Do you want to be able to change your flight plans? That’s an upgrade. Carry on? Upgrade.
I just need cheap bc I want to spend my money on activities once I get to my destination.
for me, with spirit, it was literal comfort. The seats don’t recline at all, and they put them so upright, that sitting there for a flight across the country - it was sooooo uncomfortable.
And then, regardless that the flight was mostly empty, they still wouldn’t let people move in order to find some comfort. I had picked an aisle seat in an empty row. Then, 2 women picked the other two seats. I couldn’t spread out at all, and there was an entirely empty row behind me.
But nope - couldn’t move because i didn’t pay for that seat. The customer service is just horrible IMO.