Frontier and Spirit

[Dakota731]

Any experiences with these two airlines? The big three are just so expensive and have crappy times for our next trip!

 

[jimmymc]

I've been on both plenty of times. Stuff to keep in mind:

• Seat selection and carry-on bags cost extra. A personal item is included, and they will check the size of both bags if they are close
• Check in online beforehand or pay a fee to check in at the desk. Dropping off checked bags is included in the checked bag fee.
• No complimentary drinks or snacks on board
• Seats aren't as comfortable, but it's not a huge difference
• If your flight is cancelled, you will have to wait for the next Spirit or Frontier flight. They won't put you on another airline. This might be a day or two away.

 

[EACarlson]

I'm assuming you mean Spirit. When they work they are just fine, when things go wrong, they have no chance to recover. A co worker had a flight leaving Vegas in March on Frontier that was cancelled for mechanical. Frontier did nothing for him, told him they could rebook him on Thursday, the flight was Sunday. No hotel and they offered him a $15 meal voucher. If it were something you would be horribly disappointed to miss, I wouldn't fly one of the ULCCs.

 

[_19disnA]

Have flown on Frontier several times with no issues. Relatives were flying to Vegas a couple of years ago and their departing flight was delayed, so Frontier gave them free tickets they could use within a year. They thought it was wonderful they got a future free flight, guess it depends on your impression of how things are handled.

Where I used to live, Spirit was CONSTANTLY on the local news showing irate passengers at the airport who were stuck because a flight was cancelled and no good options existed. If they don't fly daily flights on a particular route, could have major issues when things go wrong. I personally would NEVER fly on Spirit. Also make sure to check the TOTAL cost of flights when doing comparison shopping. Many only show the base ticket price to make it SEEM like it is a bargain, but once you add in the various extras, not so much.

There are risks with any of the these 'shoe-string' airlines, but I consider Frontier to be a much better choice compared to Spirit.

Have noticed recently that Frontier will sometimes show a connecting flight with an exorbitant layover time (8+hrs) instead of indicating they don't service that route. Make sure to review the connecting flight information to avoid surprises when traveling.

 

[Dakota731]

That was the biggest thing I was afraid of - there is only one flight per day from our city to Orlando and back, so if it gets cancelled then we would have to wait a day or more to get to WDW. I don’t care about snacks, seats or any of that, but missing your vacation would be rough!

 

[Lewisc]

That was the biggest thing I was afraid of - there is only one flight per day from our city to Orlando and back, so if it gets cancelled then we would have to wait a day or more to get to WDW. I don’t care about snacks, seats or any of that, but missing your vacation would be rough!

You need a plan B.

How long would it take to drive to Orlando? Less then 12 hours? Doable.

How long a drive to an airport with frequent service? An hour or 2? Doable.

You may have to weigh increased travel costs against canceling your trip, or at least missing the first couple of days

 

[dez1978]

When I have flown Frontier, it's been fine. But flights are infrequent and crappy times from our airport. Like they only have flights to MCO a couple days a week and it's mid week.

 

[WinterSolider]

For a short flight, I actually like Spirit. I don't need half a cup of Ginger Ale to make myself comfortable for 3 hours and I prefer not having the service carts clogging up the aisle for when my kid inevitably needs to go to the bathroom 4 times.

 

[LilyWDW]

Honestly, I have seen enough bad happen to know that I will never book them. The biggest issues are the lack of additional flights if something wrong happens with out original flight. That and a lot of the savings end up being eaten up by paying for random stuff like a carry on or a seat assignment.

 

[kylenne]

The biggest issues are the lack of additional flights if something wrong happens with out original flight.

This is exactly why I'd never entertain these airlines. As I'm always telling people, my cousins in FL missed a family funeral up here in NY because of Spirit. A barebones flight is one thing, but barebones customer service is something else.

I really feel for folks without a lot of options. But if I lived in place with fewer options for flights, I'd do a connecting one on another airline before rolling the dice with an ULCC after that situation. And I've heard enough similar horror stories to think it's not a one off.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

This is exactly why I'd never entertain these airlines. As I'm always telling people, my cousins in FL missed a family funeral up here in NY because of Spirit. A barebones flight is one thing, but barebones customer service is something else.

I really feel for folks without a lot of options. But if I lived in place with fewer options for flights, I'd do a connecting one on another airline before rolling the dice with an ULCC after that situation. And I've heard enough similar horror stories to think it's not a one off.

I think the bolded above is the perfect way to sum up these airlines! They are fine when things go as planned. But when things go off the rails their customer service is usually terrible due to their business model and schedule. You really should have a plan B when booking these airlines.

I flew Spirit a few times years ago ORD-MCO. They had a ORD-MCO that was at 3pm when I had to work until 1pm. The next UA and AA flights were 6pm or 630pm. I booked on Spirit but booked the AA flight as well with miles....just in case. Luckily Spirit was on time so just cancelled the flight. But always good to have a backup plan.

 

[EACarlson]

I really feel for folks without a lot of options. But if I lived in place with fewer options for flights, I'd do a connecting one on another airline before rolling the dice with an ULCC after that situation. And I've heard enough similar horror stories to think it's not a one off.

This is exactly me. I can get a nonstop flight to Sanford from my little airport on Allegiant, but I know if anything goes wrong, I'm SOL. Since I'm usually going to Orlando for work, or an expensive Disney trip, I'm not taking that chance. I book one of the legacies or drive 100 miles where I can get a nonstop SW flight to MCO.

 

[Captain UP]

Cheaper and more convenient, but they have two of the worst on-time records in air travel and they're horrible to deal with if you have any issues.

Looked it up: Delta in 2024 landed 80% of its flights on time. Frontier was at 66% and Spirit was 71%. Not shockingly, they were also 1 and 2 for most customer complaints.

 

[Leigh L]

Frontier canceled our flight and gave us vouchers, which I think were valid for booking within six months. I think this might have been during COVID, which was totally understandable. Except they then canceled their calendar of flights from my airport for the rest of the entire year. Customer service wouldn't extend vouchers or do anything, then hung up on me. I ended up disputing the charge with CC and got my money back that way.

We did have an OK experience with Frontier in 2017, and I had one other experience where I decided to cancel my original flight due to a big snowstorm coming in the BWI area, so we could get to FL two days earlier. The only thing available was a Frontier flight at Dulles. I booked it at 1 p.m. and was on a flight at 4:30 p.m. It went fine. Last minute is the only type of scenario I would ever, ever use Frontier again.

Spirit, I only have one experience with. Meh. Gate crew was rude, flight crew was great. That airline had also canceled me at least three times (That was a BWI-Chicago flight) without alternatives before I could finally use those credits. So I decided never again..

 

[LAS2AMS]

I wouldn’t let the possibly of flight cancellations stop you from booking Spirit or Frontier. Flight cancellations are still somewhat rare, but they happen on all airlines. And if your flight is cancelled, the policy is to book you on the next available flight.

What do you think happens when a flight with 150-200 people going to Orlando on Delta, American l, United or Southwest cancels? Our American flight from Charlotte to Orlando cancelled last summer. People with status got booked on flights later that day. Everyone else, including us, spent 24-48 hours in Charlotte. And of course, since they blanked the cancellation on rain, it was at our own expense.

The only way we got to Orlando the next day was to split our party up and take multiple flights. Very costly experience - had to pay for airport meals and lodging in Charlotte, lost a day at our DVC rental, and had to pay an extra $400 on our car rental ad Fox only guarantees the price if picked up the same day (unlike other rental agencies who will honor it if flight irregularities happened).

 

[LAS2AMS]

We’ve flown Spirit and Frontier dozens of times and have saved thousands of dollars in doing so. As long as you’re aware of their fee structure and don’t try to beat it, you’ll be fine. Most people hate them because they got bit by the fee structure; in fact, their business model relies on people doing so.

Seat comfort is similar to the big guys. You don’t get snacks, drinks, WiFi, power or entertainment but that’s not a big deal. Frontier and Spirit recently started giving cups of bottled water for free, and I believe Spirit is suppose to trial free snacks and drinks later this year.

Sears don’t recline which I actually like - I very rarely recline mine and when the person in front of me does so, it becomes uncomfortable. And since it’s usually cheaper to pay for checked baggage, there’s not many carryons which means people get off the plane fairly quickly.

Frontier and Spirit both started bundles, check those out. Frontier also is suppose to allow free checked bags for a time this year.

 

[greeneyedchick]

I have flown Frontier and good number of times. My only issue with them is that they are sticklers about your personal item. If one little strap is hanging out of their siing box (they don't let you touch it or push it down), they'll charge you for a carry on at the gate. It also takes a lot of time to board because they were checking every person's bag. We were delayed almost 3 hours last time.

My personal favorite discount airline is Allegiant. For Disney you would fly into their airport in Sanford, FL. They are my go-to airline. The down side is they have a limited number of flights. But when it does work it, it so much cheaper, even if I have to pay for luggage and assigned seats.

 

[Lewisc]

Flight cancellations are still somewhat rare, but they happen on all airlines. And if your flight is cancelled, the policy is to book you on the next available flight.

Some routes ULCC only offer service 2 or 3 times a week. Next available flight might not be for a week

 

[LAS2AMS]

Some routes ULCC only offer service 2 or 3 times a week. Next available flight might not be for a week

Cancellation rates are low, generally around 1.5%. You have a much higher chance of being stranded on a connecting flight.

Like I said, I’ve been on dozens of Spirit and Frontier flights and none have cancelled. Last year alone, I had three blown misconnects on American Airlines in 6 months. I stopped taking connecting fights after that (I live minutes from SNA but now endure LAX for better options).

 

[Lewisc]

Cancellation rates are low, generally around 1.5%.

The biggest potential issue is weather related winter cancellations. You might have to cancel a trip.