Frontier and Spirit

[Lewisc]

Not completely true, but I see your point.
AFAIK the external boarding is only in Denver, and even then there is an option for ramp vs stairs.

Frontier said they are switching to ground level boarding at all airports which allow it.

There will be a ramp, at ground level, with switchbacks for disabled pax. Most pax are expected to be using stairs.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Frontier said they are switching to ground level boarding at all airports which allow it.

There will be a ramp, at ground level, with switchbacks for disabled pax. Most pax are expected to be using stairs.

I am curious.....What is Frontier gaining by switching to ground level boarding? Is it supposed to save time? Does it cost less somehow? Will pax be exposed to the weather during the boarding process or is there some cover overhead?

 

[Lewisc]

I am curious.....What is Frontier gaining by switching to ground level boarding? Is it supposed to save time? Does it cost less somehow? Will pax be exposed to the weather during the boarding process or is there some cover overhead?

They can board from the front and back of the plane. They claim it cuts boarding time in half.

Cover? Passenger comfort? Wrong airline for that.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

They can board from the front and back of the plane. They claim it cuts boarding time in half.

Cover? Passenger comfort? Wrong airline for that.

I have never flown either -nor do I plan to- but for their regular customer base, I can't imagine this will go over well. Seems to me they are opening themselves up to lawsuits when people trip, fall, etc. going up and down those stairs.

 

[Lewisc]

Ground boarding is common in Europe; particularly with wide body. ULCC pax look at 3 things Price, Price and PRICE.

 

[SirDuff]

Ground boarding happens in a few smaller US airports already - no big law suits.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Well… if you want lower fares, one of the only ways to do are….

 

[MIChessGuy]

Ground boarding happens in a few smaller US airports already - no big law suits.

I think Long Beach has had it for pretty much their entire existence. I found out about it years ago when I was considering LGB for a trip to Disneyland. Seemed odd that every flight there would board people like a 1940s movie, but there you go.

 

[Lewisc]

Well… if you want lower fares, one of the only ways to do are….

If you cut the.boarding time in half planes should be able to fly and extra segment daily.

Bin space is not free, some fares some pax. Boarding is faster because pax aren't fighting for bin space.

 

[kickmeluker95]

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

Never flew spirit, but had terrible experiences with frontier. Once had to deplane three times for one flight with frontier stuck in MCO for 12 hours.... needless to say the staff could careless

 

[David Gardner]

Momentary aside: I'm familiar with "pax" as Latin for peace. Most of the usage here seems to be in place of "people." In the phrase "some fares some pax" that doesn't make sense, though. Little help?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Passengers

 

[jennypenny]

Does anybody have a credible source discussing flight cancellations on Spirit or Frontier in which passengers were told they’d have to wait several days before they’d be accommodated? I certainly can’t find any.

Sure, I can give you several first hand incidences. We usually only fly Frontier because it flies out of our local tiny airport to MCO, but we've been stranded several times and so have many of our family members. Once they were able to accommodate us the next day when they cancelled our flight. Twice we had to take flights out of a different airport (and then figure out how to get our car since our return trip was to the original airport). Twice we've had to buy tickets on a different airline for the next day when they couldn't accommodate us at all. This has also happened to three different family members. (and this is all post-covid, if I went back any further this post would get too long)

MCO is a Frontier hub so I've had fewer issues flying them out of MCO, but getting into MCO on Frontier can be difficult. I don't book with them when it's a special trip or with people we don't travel with often. And I'd never book them for a cruise.

We still fly them because the crews are decent, the airport is 10 minutes from our house, and the price is right, but we do it knowing how often we've been burned. And since the only return flight is late at night we always book the hotel room for an extra night in case the flight is cancelled and we need someplace to stay. At least we get to use the room during the day.

This isn't fear mongering. It's more like being an informed consumer. Long delays and cancellations happen pretty regularly and Frontier is less equipped to handle them than the legacy airlines. There's no one to call, lines at the airport are always long and they charge you for talking to an agent, and the flight schedule is razor thin in a lot of markets.

RE: ground boarding -- Our airport has always boarded from the ground but they have ramps not stairs. They wheel people who need assistance up first and then everyone else boards. They use two ramps, front and back, and I find it nicer/faster assuming it isn't raining.

 

[Lewisc]

Sure, I can give you several first hand incidences.

Your family are masochists.

Frontier wouldn't be in business if your experiences were typical BUT worse case scenario with ULCC is bad.

Some people make a same day backup reservation on southwest. They use points which get returned if not needed

 

[jimmymc]

Not completely true, but I see your point.
AFAIK the external boarding is only in Denver, and even then there is an option for ramp vs stairs.

They also use a portable ramp in Trenton. They're the only commercial airline who uses the airport, so I guess they don't want to pay for the jet bridge.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

They also use a portable ramp in Trenton. They're the only commercial airline who uses the airport, so I guess they don't want to pay for the jet bridge.

Trenton does not have a jet bridge

 

[jimmymc]

Trenton does not have a jet bridge

They used to have one. It was there but not functioning in the early 2010's. It's gone now; I don't remember what year they removed it.

 

[Lewisc]

Trenton does not have a jet bridge

They would if Frontier was willing to pay for it

 

[Maistre Gracey]

They would if Frontier was willing to pay for it

Frontier often has two or possibly three airplanes on the ramp at a time. I’m not sure the terminal could accommodate three jet bridges. If it could, it would be a several million dollar endeavor.

 

[toesmom]

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

We are in Canada so unfortunately cannot easily book unless we drive few hours to Buffalo. I hear prices are so much cheaper than Canadian airlines