Frontier Airlines review

[zobow02]

So I thought since this is the budget board I'd write a review about one of the cost effective airlines that flies into MCO, Frontier. Now I've only flown with them once, however, everyone has different experiences. I know of a lot of people who also want to fly to Disney rather than drive and pay for parking, but airline tickets can be expensive too. So I thought I'd write this review in case anyone had any questions or was curious if it is a really good deal.

So we flew with Frontier a few weeks ago in early Dec. when we arrived at the airport the people that checked us in were very kind and helpful. The only thing that stinks about frontier is they charge you at least like $40-$50 for large checked carry-on (suitcases, large backpacks, etc). So we traveled with backpacks, small bags, and one checked carry-on.

One thing we didn't expect at all was my family would be seated together! We at first didn't opt to pay extra to be seated with each other, however Frontier has a policy that children under 13 are automatically seated with family. So instead of my mom, me, and my brother (under 13) being seated in different seats on the plane, we ended up being seated together for no extra charge. I know this is a problem for many families so keep that in mind if you want to be seated with your kiddos

The flight was un eventful, nothing really interesting. they had yummy food. The plane was brand new! It had nice leather seats and was very clean. I didn't use the bathroom though so I can't document how clean or nice it was lol


The landing, I will admit, was a bit rough. We had some turbulence... But landed safe (maybe thanks to some pixie dust lol).

Overall Frontier is a pretty good airline! Our tickets were $60 one-way! And what's nice is we could've used ME to get to our resort ASMo ( we didn't though, long story short I purchased a car in FL and we would drive it back home). We are flying Frontier in February and will definitely use ME for Princess Marathon Weekend for our arrival and departing to and from ASMo.

Anyways, Frontier is a really good airline and if anyone if looking for a cheap direct flight into Orlando, I'd go with Frontier! That is if your airport has direct flights with Frontier

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[Ariel1014]

I have flown twice with Frontier (3rd flight in 2 weeks) and both have been great flights! Each flight cost me around $50 round-trip per person! We didn't select seats but when we checked in on-line, were seated together (just 2 of us). Both were short trips so our personal item (free of charge) was a backpack each that met the size requirements. Our first trip home from MCO was delayed a bit over 2 hours (plane issue) and we each received a $50 voucher for future travel.
Drinks and snacks cost on the plane, but we always pack our own!

 

[Wubar]

Glad you had a good experience. However, we have had some not great experiences. One time our flight was delayed for 5 hours due to a "mechanical" issue, not weather, but no one would tell us any additional information.

Also, for our most recent flight to WDW a few weeks ago, it was Disney DME staff who contacted my wife a few days before our departure date asking to confirm our new flight, as apparently Frontier CANCELLED that flight, booked everyone on a flight that left 6 hours later and DIDN'T CONTACT THE PASSENGERS. My wife called them immediately, bless her soul, and got every supervisor/manager on the line until they relented and booked us on a flight for a day earlier, didn't charge us rebooking fees, gave us a future flight credit, and gave us a free checked bag. When questioned as to why we weren't contacted by phone or even email, their response was "We don't contact anyone for flight changes. It is up to the customers to keep on top of any itinerary changes".

Seriously? Cancel a flight 4 days before departure, replace it with a flight that leaves 6 hours later, and don't think a quick email, at the minimum, would have been a nice courtesy to those who had time sensitive plans? Not to mention those poor uninformed souls who would have shown up at the airport, only then be informed of the flight change, so now they can either drive back home or wait in the terminal for 6 hours. Ridiculous. We spoke to various passengers on our new flight, and they all had horror stories. I get that it is a bare bones discount airline - you pay additional fees for everything except bathroom use. But to change flight information and not inform the passengers is asinine, in my opinion.

Thank goodness to Disney DME for letting us know of the changes. We found a good rate at an offsite hotel for that additional night before our trip and were able to walk around Disney Springs with that additional vacation time.

 

[LovesTimone]

We flew it once round trip...

It was a nightmare both ways... the worst plane trip we have ever taken...

Never again... I don't care if we could fly for free... Never ever again...!!!!!!

 

[_19disnA]

Have flown on Frontier several times and never had any issues. It is always a good idea to check the latest flight information prior to departing for the airport.

 

[Dean1953]

Frontier flys out of Kansas City but to fly to MCO, you would have to fly to Denver, stay overnight, and then fly to MCO in the morning. I’ll pass on that. I flew them many years ago to San Diego (when they didn’t charge for carry on luggage) and I kept having to hide my carry on from Frontier’s roving luggage size enforcement brigade. As it turned out, the flight left late and I missed my connection to San Diego and had to wait 4 hours in Denver. I’d much rather use points on Southwest on non stop flights and have the option of 2 checked bags and a carry on. For my week trip this Sunday to WDW, I’m driving.

 

[rhiansmom]

We fly Frontier often from MSP to MCO (and other places). I think as long as you know what you are getting into with any budget airline and know what costs extra they are a great option. Lots of time they run $29 or $39 each way flights so getting from Minneapolis to Orlando can be $120 RT for the two of us making it a cheap weekend getaway.

 

[Klayfish]

Absolutely love Frontier! Use them often and never an issue.

Far better than that joke of an airline called Southwest.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I'm glad you posted. I am always flying SW, but have been tempted to try frontier and always chicken out. I could've flown them for our cruise last week for so much less than SW, incl all the added fees, but chicken out. Well, in the end, my SW flight was delayed and the frontier flight took off on time. I will definitely try them in the future with the price dictates.
I appreciate you posting about the family policy, because that was a big concern of mine.

 

[4kids4karen]

For cheer competitions I would book Southwest, friend would book Frontier. After she paid for a checked bag, our prices ended up being about equal. Except the airport here that Frontier flies out is an additional 30 minute drive, she has to drive right past the airport I am at. Frontier has fewer flights per day and few airports to choose from. It works for some. My friend son recently married but before marriage they were living in two different states so they used frontier to visit each other but didn't check any bags.

 

[zobow02]

Frontier flys out of Kansas City but to fly to MCO, you would have to fly to Denver, stay overnight, and then fly to MCO in the morning. I’ll pass on that. I flew them many years ago to San Diego (when they didn’t charge for carry on luggage) and I kept having to hide my carry on from Frontier’s roving luggage size enforcement brigade. As it turned out, the flight left late and I missed my connection to San Diego and had to wait 4 hours in Denver. I’d much rather use points on Southwest on non stop flights and have the option of 2 checked bags and a carry on. For my week trip this Sunday to WDW, I’m driving.

I've noticed if their flights aren't direct they can cost quite a bit more so I can see why you'd rather choose to drive or fly a different airline.

 

[zobow02]

Absolutely love Frontier! Use them often and never an issue.

Far better than that joke of an airline called Southwest.

Southwest is sooo expensive! We kept looking at tickets for our upcoming trip in feb but they are twice as expensive as Frontier!
Our airport has direct flights to MCO with both SW and Frontier. The only difference is SW only has direct flights in the winter to MCO. They have direct flights year round with Frontier.
I've heard Frontier never really cancels either which is a big bonus for us because where we live, the weather in the winter is unpredictable.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

On touring plans in the fall there were several families from different states who had flights canceled for no logical reason by Frontier. When they only fly certain days of the week you are stranded. We used to fly Frontier years ago but I won’t fly them or Allegient.

Just check all the fees prior to purchase and make sure if flight is canceled you aren’t stranded for days until they fly again. ALSO THERE IS NO POLICY ON THE FRONTIER FLIGHT THAT FAMILIES ARE NOT SEPARATED!! If you need to sit together you need to buy seats - no place on there site is the statement that it is policy that families with kids under 13 will be seated together.

 

[zobow02]

THERE IS NO POLICY ON THE FRONTIER FLIGHT THAT FAMILIES ARE NOT SEPARATED!!

Well.... the people at the frontier check in and flight attendant told that's their policy. Maybe they don't post about so they can take your money lol

 

[davper]

I have flown Frontier once because someone else booked the trip.
Never again.
I didn't have a back pack small enough for there personal bag size limitation. Nor would it have been big enough for what I needed to take. So I had to check a bag that would be carry on with any other airline.
The seats are the worst things I ever sat in. I needed a chiropractor after the flight. Think hard city bus seat only smaller. It is not like they didn't have room for wider seats, the aisle was almost twice as wide as other airlines. It is almost as if they want you to suffer.
Never, never, ever again.

 

[justafigment27]

I also had a good experience with Frontier. We flew Frontier to MCO out of Grand Rapids, MI for spring break in 2018. Completely uneventful and the plane was new. The experience felt nicer than Allegiant and the same as SWA or Delta (I actually preferred the seating process on Frontier to SWA ... it seemed less stressful than SWA. We paid for seats and those are the seats we got. I always buy EB on SWA and I hate that it’s kind of a gamble that guarantees NOTHING).

My Mom just did the same GRR-MCO flight on Frontier about two weeks ago and her flight was fine as well. Left on time and landed on time.

We are flying Frontier again for spring break 2019. We are flying non-stop DTW-MCO and I booked back in September. After I selected seats ($13/person each way) and paid for luggage (2 checked @ $30 per piece each way and one carry on @$35 each way), the grand total was $709. This is for four people at spring break! I couldn’t NOT book them! Prices have risen since then and are now comparable with SWA or Delta ($2000+ for four people). SWA was that high on opening day and hasn’t gone down as far as I can tell (though I stopped watching once I booked with Frontier).

I’m not really worried about any delay or cancellation. Maybe I’d be more concerned if I had a cruise or something that was more time sensitive?

 

[wanderlust7]

I needed a chiropractor after the flight.

I'll agree with that! We flew Frontier once nonstop red-eye SFO-MCO. Absolutely, incredibly uncomfortable seats.

BUT - we paid $280 for 4 of us including the seat fees and one checked luggage. That's a price I would have jumped on for 1 ticket. So for that price, I would without a doubt, fly with them again.

The flight out was slightly delayed and the communication at the gate was not good. But once on the flight, I thought the flight attendants were professional, no-nonsense, and efficient.

 

[tzeitel]

We have flown Frontier twice - got a $20 one way fare from CA (SNA) to Denver (which is a Frontier hub). DD and I thought it was fine, DH not so much. He is 6ft tall and was super uncomfortable, plus he did not like that Frontier charged for drinks. They tried to ignore me when I asked for water but I am too stubborn

Our latest trip to DLR (this past Oct) was just DD and I so we flew Frontier on the return since they had a later time than SW (which is our preferred airline). It was $79 each, plus one bag, and 2 seats. We has a 22" suitcase plus we each had a backpack (regular sized Jansport). Our flight was at 6pm, at around 2PM we got a text from Frontier that the flight was delayed 4 hours. We were still at DL so it was no biggie - except that by the end we were fried. I think because we had ran around so much enjoying our last day the extra 4 hours was a bit much (blasphemy, I know!).

Still, not a huge deal for us and the next day Frontier sent us a $25 credit each for a flight in the next year. $25 might not seem like a lot but when we can get fares for $50 on a regular basis it is pretty good compensation. We will probably not use it since we don't really go on vacation w/o DH, this Oct trip was a special Halloween party/use our APs one more time/go before SWG opens trip. Going on a cruise in May or would've tried to sneak in a long weekend at DLR.

Bottom line - if you have a short flight (ours is just 2 hours), don't care about the complementary drink, are not too tall, and are not on a time crunch then Frontier is great. Their deals are hard to beat but make sure to add all the extras (seats, bags). I see any savings in what else I can do in the parks - as in, saving $50 per ticket equals dinner at Carthay Cirlce...or 10 churros each

 

[SC Minnie]

We've flown Frontier a number of times from CLT to MCO and never had a problem. That flight is short though. We've never had an issue with a delayed flight from CLT or MCO on Frontier. We typically pay for 1 carry on and cram both DH and I's stuff in 1 back and we both take a backpack for the rest. We don't pay for the aisel or window seats, we opt for the middle and deal with it. Half of the Frontier flights we've taken haven't been full so we were able to move once the everyone was on board and accounted for.

The first flight we took, we bought 2 tickets and paid for 1 carry one-- total $75 roundtrip. We couldn't drive down for less than that. We've never paid more than $100 each roundtrip on a Frontier flight.

Would it had been comfortable to fly them from CLT to Hawaii? 10 hours. Absolutely not. But a 60-90 min flight I can suck it up.

DD has flown on them from MCO to Denver a couple of times and hadn't experiences delays nor did she complain about the comfort.

 

[_19disnA]

^^ I agree, some people think a 'budget' airline will have all the amenities of the major carriers. They are a budget airline for a reason and if you are taking shorter flights, then not having fancy food/snacks/drinks or large seats won't be an issue. If you flying to Hawaii, then you need to determine what is important and go from there.