Tell me about flying Frontier

[GPC0321]

Wasting time this Sunday afternoon doing some preliminary airfare research. We won't be going until NEXT December, but I'm bored, so...

I've read plenty of horror stories about Frontier in various places, but man! So cheap! We'll be flying out of Raleigh, and the direct flight is only 1 hr 45 minutes. We're only planning to stay 4 nights (Thurs - Sun), and we're just three adults who don't pack heavy. I know Frontier charges for carry-ons, in fact more than if you check the bag), but they do allow small personal carry-ons (I'm thinking large purse, small backpack size?) for Magic Bands and all other necessities for hitting a park, etc.

Our only priority is that we and our luggage get there safely and in a fairly timely manner.

If we follow the rules, do the advanced online checking of bags, don't need food or drink on the plane, and don't mind where we sit for the short flight, will we be okay? It sure frees up a lot of money for other things.

I'm obviously fishing for good news, but I'll listen to horror stories too.

 

[Dis703]

I'll be taking my 5th Frontier flight in the past 7 months in just a couple of weeks. I used them to fly to Orlando Round Trip in the fall for about $60 Round Trip, in February for $50 round trip and now over Mothers Day we ended up splitting and are doing AA then Frontier back for $100 Round Trip each from NJ or Philly. The price simply cannot be beat.

I've been using them mainly for short trips of 1-3 nights and we bring a backpack or diaper bag each and make sure it fits the "personal item" measurements so we don't have to pay for any bags. This is off the top of my head but I think it was around 18x14x12 are the dimensions. It has to fit under the seat in front of you. I did pick our seats each time because I was nervous about not being seated with my child or ending up in the way back of the plane.

The actual flights have been fine. The staff have been very friendly. The seats aren't the most comfortable but tolerable for a little over 2 hour flight. We were early landing every time but once. That time we took of 45 minutes late but landed exactly on time. The only downside at all have been the limited times for flights. I was flying out of Trenton but lately they only have one late night flight each day each way. So I'm driving further to Philly this trip to get better options.

It seems sometimes it depends on the particular airport or route but from here in Trenton everyone I know who uses them loves them.

 

[Pawpsicle]

It's not great - very bare bones flying experience. The tray tables are about the size of your palm and the seats are so cheap we joke that they bolted some lawn chairs to the floor. There is very little leg room in the cheapy seats to the point that we were pretty uncomfortable by the end of the flight. I'm a 5'10" female with a bad knee, so not the best combo. Plus, the flight attendants spent a significant portion of the flight trying to push the Frontier credit card over the PA. That being said, they are ridiculously cheap and, to be fair, our flights have always been on time. I keep saying we'll never fly them again, but can't justify spending hundreds of dollars more for another airline.

 

[GPC0321]

Sounds better than 10-12 hours in a car at least. I'm keeping my eye on them. Some of the deals are just outrageously cheap. Not sure if that will be true for the time we're looking to go, but once they release this December's fares, I should have a good idea of when would be the best dates to fly. I noticed they only fly between Raleigh and Orlando on Sun, Tues, and Thurs. That works out for us since we were planning to check in on a Sunday and check out on a Thursday anyway! But there are some Tuesdays when it's only $29! Wow!

I can tolerate most anything for an hour and 45 minutes.

 

[loveswdw]

I'll be taking my 5th Frontier flight in the past 7 months in just a couple of weeks. I used them to fly to Orlando Round Trip in the fall for about $60 Round Trip, in February for $50 round trip and now over Mothers Day we ended up splitting and are doing AA then Frontier back for $100 Round Trip each from NJ or Philly. The price simply cannot be beat.

Did you pay the extra $ and join the Den Club to get such cheap flights? Looks like for the cheap, cheap deals you usually have to join the Den Club. But that still seems like a pretty good deal if you are flying often. We have Frontier out of Cincinnati (which is a little over an hour from us). I'm just really leery as they only offer one flight a day to pretty much any of their destinations.

 

[Dis703]

I did not join the first time but I did the second. That time I saved $80 so the $50 sign up was worth it. I think it saved me an additional $20 on our upcoming flight so it's more than paid for itself. Sometimes it's a significant difference and other times only a few dollars.