frontier flights out of Buffalo?

[Rileygirl]

Hello

I have been looking at flights for MCO out of buffalo, and the prices out on tuesdays and Wednesday’s are really cheap (circa 2005 southwest cheap!!)

I was wondering if any Canadian dissers have some firsthand experience using this airline.

Seriously, I could not get a bus to TORONTO for the price of a one way ticket on frontier....

TIA

~A

 

[alohamom]

We flew Frontier out of Detroit (not Buffalo) two years ago to MCO and it was an all around good experience.

We paid a crazy cheap price Black Friday price and went for a long weekend to do MVMCP

We had never flown out of Detroit but I have friends and relatives that had and they told me it was similar to Buffalo. (The airport is located in a suburban area with lots of hotels and restaurants)

Frontier itself kind of felt like a bus, they fly this non stop route everyday and the attendants were kind of no nonsense but very nice and super professional.

The plane we flew on was very new, very clean and had no issues

We joined the Den Club ($50 for a year) in order to get approx $30 round trip flights for our family of four. We paid to have one bag under so I think our total was around $200 USD roundtrip for all four of us in total-it was insane and well worth it.

Based on my own experience I would not hesitate to try and fly Frontier out of Buffalo.

If it was a longer flight, I might think twice. I kind of like to have my carry on with me for comfort items and I dont know if I would pay to bring it on, just from a principle point of view, the price would have to be super low for me to justify all the extra charges.

Do you research, know what they charge for and treat it like a bus ride

 

[ellbell]

Hello

I have been looking at flights for MCO out of buffalo, and the prices out on tuesdays and Wednesday’s are really cheap (circa 2005 southwest cheap!!)

I was wondering if any Canadian dissers have some firsthand experience using this airline.

Seriously, I could not get a bus to TORONTO for the price of a one way ticket on frontier....

TIA

~A

Frontier also asks that you tip the flight staff now.

 

[von Monster]

Frontier also asks that you tip the flight staff now.

Just like every other place in the world (or at least the US). It's also just a tip prompt on their card machine if you buy drinks or food so unless you forgot to grab something in the terminal you'll never see it.

 

[FigmentSpark]

One of those airlines has a thing that if you buy your luggage (and carry on luggage) space at time of booking, it's cheaper. Before you 'pull the trigger', just read their luggage rules. That way, you'll know if those costs, as well as the flight cost still makes it worth it. Also, if you know you'll take 2 bags, you can book that.

 

[susanv]

Seriously considering for a last minute trip. Reading the reviews and most of them are not positive. DH is 6'6" 350 lbs, even with the stretch seating is it worthwhile? Found rates for $96 ($76 with the membership) for a four day trip pp.

 

[von Monster]

Does he fit on southwest? The seat pitch (32) is the same, which is better than air Canada.

I would take most negative reviews with a grain of salt, a lot of them follow the 'made me pay for carry on or drinks' theme. They're pretty clear on what's included with the ticket price but I've found people are always going to complain about something.

 

[susanv]

Haven't tried Southwest. Only used Delta, Air Canada, Rouge and Jet Blue so far with DH.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I live in the Buffalo area.
I would never use Frontier Airlines.
So many horror stories about safety.
Its low budget and the charge for everything.
I like Southwest Airlines. Reasonable prices and you get your personal item, carry on, and 2 checked luggage per person at no additional cost.

 

[mort1331]

we have flown once with them out of Buffalo. No issues, paid ahead for one checked bag. We would use them again, but I try to avoid Rouge,,might just be me, But have always had an issue with them

 

[von Monster]

I live in the Buffalo area.
I would never use Frontier Airlines.
So many horror stories about safety.
Its low budget and the charge for everything.
I like Southwest Airlines. Reasonable prices and you get your personal item, carry on, and 2 checked luggage per person at no additional cost.

I also like SW, but once again your paying for the baggage in your ticket price, often SW out of BUF will be 5-10x more then Frontier without adding on Early Bird Check in. So unless your attempting to move your house via your airline luggage Frontier will be a significant cost savings, espcially if you are a family and can make due with 1 bag per 2-3 people.

As for safety, just an FYI but in the latest JACDAC ratings (paywall) I'm pretty sure Frontier was ahead of Southwest (Spirit was 8th in the WORLD), but for a user friendly tool for searching https://www.airlineratings.com/safety-rating-tool/ Frontier is a 7 star and Southwest a 3.

 

[von Monster]

Haven't tried Southwest. Only used Delta, Air Canada, Rouge and Jet Blue so far with DH.

According to Seatguru -

Frontier 30-32 regular 36-38 stretch and 18 inches wide
JetBlue 34 and 17.8 wide
Rouge 31 and 17.8 wide
Delta 31-33 and 17 wide.

So you won;t have any issues on Frontier unless you have them elsewhere. If you use Spirit just upgrade to the Big Front Seat - it's a first class seat for an extra $50

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I also like SW, but once again your paying for the baggage in your ticket price, often SW out of BUF will be 5-10x more then Frontier without adding on Early Bird Check in. So unless your attempting to move your house via your airline luggage Frontier will be a significant cost savings, espcially if you are a family and can make due with 1 bag per 2-3 people.

As for safety, just an FYI but in the latest JACDAC ratings (paywall) I'm pretty sure Frontier was ahead of Southwest (Spirit was 8th in the WORLD), but for a user friendly tool for searching https://www.airlineratings.com/safety-rating-tool/ Frontier is a 7 star and Southwest a 3.

IDK $217 for non stop RT per person is pretty good in my opinion.
I'd never buy EBCI either.
I can recall several reports with Frontier having holes in the fuselage and emergency landings. Not as of late but a few years ago.

Just to compare I looked up my dates for Frontier and it would be $236.60 for crappy times RT per person. And that is without picking a seat and without paying for ANY luggage.

 

[Rileygirl]

We flew Frontier out of Detroit (not Buffalo) two years ago to MCO and it was an all around good experience.

We paid a crazy cheap price Black Friday price and went for a long weekend to do MVMCP

We had never flown out of Detroit but I have friends and relatives that had and they told me it was similar to Buffalo. (The airport is located in a suburban area with lots of hotels and restaurants)

Frontier itself kind of felt like a bus, they fly this non stop route everyday and the attendants were kind of no nonsense but very nice and super professional.

The plane we flew on was very new, very clean and had no issues

We joined the Den Club ($50 for a year) in order to get approx $30 round trip flights for our family of four. We paid to have one bag under so I think our total was around $200 USD roundtrip for all four of us in total-it was insane and well worth it.

Based on my own experience I would not hesitate to try and fly Frontier out of Buffalo.

If it was a longer flight, I might think twice. I kind of like to have my carry on with me for comfort items and I dont know if I would pay to bring it on, just from a principle point of view, the price would have to be super low for me to justify all the extra charges.

Do you research, know what they charge for and treat it like a bus ride

Thank you so much everyone for all your information, it’s so valuable. I am finding prices of 59 one way on frontier looking at flying out on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

I remember back in the day my first flight with southwest (89 round trip per person in the early 2000’s) I was scared to try them because they were so cheap. Safety is always a concern. But unless I am mistaken, luggage and carry on included, frontier is going to be a significant savings for us. I don’t care for the late arrival time though.

Have note done Disney for several years, but decided we would do a trip this summer taking advantage of free dining. All my kids are adults now, real ones at 21, not Disney ones, lol, so the savings is pretty darn good. We will go back one day and do SWGE after all the craziness dies down.

Southwests time for direct out of buffalo sucks too though: 6:10 is just ugly. Are there any other airlines I should be thinking about? All your advice and experience is very much appreciated.

 

[alohamom]

Are there any other airlines I should be thinking about?

Are you using Google Flights to check pricing? The only other airline you might try is Jet Blue, they sometimes have sales that are not too bad and people really like flying with them. I personally had a really bad experience with them. They broke the roller wheel off my brand new luggage and gave me ridiculously low credit to use to fly with them again. I never used it and it just made me miffed that they wouldnt give me money towards a replacement suitcase.

 

[alohamom]

According to Seatguru -

Frontier 30-32 regular 36-38 stretch and 18 inches wide
JetBlue 34 and 17.8 wide
Rouge 31 and 17.8 wide
Delta 31-33 and 17 wide.

So you won;t have any issues on Frontier unless you have them elsewhere. If you use Spirit just upgrade to the Big Front Seat - it's a first class seat for an extra $50

This is very interesting, I kind of thought the seats on Frontier were a decent/average size but I wasnt sure if it was me imagining it. Thanks for posting @von Monster

 

[alohamom]

I remember back in the day my first flight with southwest (89 round trip per person in the early 2000’s) I was scared to try them because they were so cheap. Safety is always a concern.

Yes, this was us too!

My BFF is a Toronto based travel agent and I remember buying $29 seats on Southwest years ago. She freaked out on me, dramatically saying I was taking my life into my hands and that their safety standards were not the same as other airlines etc . Needless to say I lived to type the tale here and now

 

[Jrb1979]

IDK $217 for non stop RT per person is pretty good in my opinion.
I'd never buy EBCI either.
I can recall several reports with Frontier having holes in the fuselage and emergency landings. Not as of late but a few years ago.

Just to compare I looked up my dates for Frontier and it would be $236.60 for crappy times RT per person. And that is without picking a seat and without paying for ANY luggage.

It may be that price for when you go. I booked Frontier a few weeks ago for the last week of this month. It cost me $76 return plus luggage. I would rather save money over worrying about flight times. My flight out is at 5pm and my return is 1pm friday.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

It may be that price for when you go. I booked Frontier a few weeks ago for the last week of this month. It cost me $76 return plus luggage. I would rather save money over worrying about flight times. My flight out is at 5pm and my return is 1pm friday.

I'm going in July.
Flight down is 6:40am and flight back is 11:05pm which gives me the most overall time at Disney which is great since I'm staying club level so I can get the
best use out of the lounge.
How much did you pay for luggage and how much did your flight there cost?
ETA looks like your return flight cost $170 according to another post on another thread.

 

[Jrb1979]

I'm going in July.
Flight down is 6:40am and flight back is 11:05pm which gives me the most overall time at Disney which is great since I'm staying club level so I can get the
best use out of the lounge.
How much did you pay for luggage and how much did your flight there cost?
ETA looks like your return flight cost $170 according to another post on another thread.

Thats $170 return with luggage. when you convert to Canadian funds. Frontier's best deals seem to be in the winter. Flying out Jan 27th and returning Feb 1st its $76 return. Luggage is $30 each way. Its still much cheaper then anything else I have found.