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Why Frontier Airlines?
People may choose to fly Frontier Airlines for a variety of reasons.
Frontier often entices frugal flyers with low entry price points and promotions that seem too good to be true. And they usually are. They also serve various destinations across the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean, which can seem convenient; until they cancel.
Flying Frontier makes sense if you don’t have luggage, can manage a cancellation without other flight options, and don’t mind being curled up right in the fetal position to fit for the duration of the flight.
Personally, I’d rather nibble on cracked batteries while walking on hot coals than try to fly Frontier again.
Why NOT Frontier Airlines?
Of all those who even know where to complain, as you can see to the left, Frontier passengers are clearly the most frustrated.
And it's not even close.
Our experiences
I will speak to our experiences and customer feedback I ran across trying to find solutions for my problem.
We decided to visit close friends for the weekend and scheduled a flight to return to Atlanta around 1:00 pm. It was important to get back to our kids that day. It was Father’s Day. And that is when the painful experience begins.
Can Frontier flights be canceled?
Yes, Frontier flights can be canceled.
Our Sunday flight was canceled on the way to the airport. After arriving at the airport, we immediately asked the front desk how they accommodated our flight needs. While in line, we watched one passenger after another walk away from the desk, frustrated and furious.
Now it was our turn.
No reason was given for canceling the flight. The weather from Cincinnati to Atlanta and everything in between was perfect. They just canceled, and the next Frontier flight to Atlanta was on Tuesday.
They do not work with other airlines to help. As a matter of fact, of the ten largest airlines in the United States, nobody does less for customers whose flights were canceled than Frontier. The image exhibits cancellation support from the top ten airlines in the United States according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Will Frontier pay for my hotel?
Are Frontier flights refundable?
It depends. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation:
“A consumer is entitled to a refund if the airline cancelled a flight, regardless of the reason, and the consumer chooses not to travel.”
So yes, under our circumstances we were entitled a full refund by law. Yet we still had to work at it.
Why Frontier is bad
When we received the cancelation email, we assumed they would get us on a flight later that day, so we accepted credit toward that flight (voucher). Don’t make that mistake like we did.
As you can see, the voucher is basically worthless when the next flight home is days away. Besides, we wanted nothing to do with Frontier again.
When we realized the reality of the circumstances, we asked for a full refund and compensation for the rental car, gas, and something nominal for our time.
We tried to do this through customer service at the front desk at the airport. And, of course, they were not authorized to manage refunds or vouchers. They gave us a QR code for “customer service.” It took us to a website with no options other than the voucher.
We tried finding a service number and breaking through, which we could not.
I then turned to my personal social media account, tweeting at Frontier.
We eventually broke through by sending direct messages to the Frontier Twitter account.
The first customer service agent tried to help me but could not. The issue was then escalated. They tried with the voucher again and noted that “along with our sincere apologies, we would like to offer you…” What upsets me about such a disingenuous apology is that it wasn't a mistake, what they did to us was policy.
They eventually issued a “One time customer service gesture to issue a refund.”
This is nonsense.
As a reminder, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation: “A consumer is entitled to a refund if the airline cancelled a flight, regardless of the reason, and the consumer chooses not to travel.”
The end result was we drove home, paid for the rental car and gas ourselves, and I missed Father’s Day with my kids.
Are Frontier flights good?
I took the screenshots below of Frontier Facebook comments in response to Frontier posts totally unrelated to the greviences shared. Compare these to the comments in response to Delta posts. You can see the distinct difference in customer satisfaction.
Can Frontier flights be changed?
Yes, but in most cases for a significant fee. There are plenty of terms and conditions to review to understand when and how flights can be changed.
Where to complain
U.S. Department of Transportation
U.S. Department of Transportation Online Complaint Form.
I could not believe how easy and fast it was to fill this out! And take the time to check out our Fly Rights.