I flew on one of the ‘worst airlines in America.’ Here’s why I’d do it again.

• Frontier Airlines is one of many ultra-low-cost airlines in the US offering passengers cheaper fares than what major carriers charge.
• But there’s a catch to flying one such airline, especially one that has often been ranked as one of the worst in the country.
• I recently flew from San Francisco, California, to Austin, Texas, aboard a Frontier flight.
• Here’s why it was a painfully mediocre experience – and why I would still most likely do it again, under certain conditions.

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As this was my first year living out of my home state, I needed to get home to Texas for Christmas, and I knew from the start that I’d be looking at an expensive flight home.

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I wasn’t thrilled, since the holidays are typically one of the most expensive times to fly in the US.

Source: Kayak

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Since I was on a budget, I looked into some budget airlines. These airlines allow thrifty passengers like yours truly to book a flight for less than what other big airlines offer.

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One of these airlines was Frontier, an ultra-low-cost airline.

Source: Business Insider

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Flying on an ultra-low-cost airline entails not paying much for the flights themselves …

Source: Frontier

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… but you payy for literally everything else, like carry-on bags, seat selections, and in-flight Coca Colas.

Source: Frontier

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Frontier has also been ranked on several occasions as one of the country’s worst airlines.

Source: Forbes, Business Insider, Business Insider, MarketWatch, MSN, Wall Street Journal

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Reports of poor customer service and on-time performance are just some of the factors plaguing the airline, though improvements have been made recently.

Source: TripAdvisor

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Airline site The Points Guy ranked Frontier the fifth best US airline out of ten in 2018, up from the second worst in 2017.

Source: The Points Guy and The Points Guy

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But, all of that aside, it’s still a budget airline and is a viable option for those looking to fly in a specific price range.

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We’re talking $20 one-way ticket specials throughout the year, though I wasn’t lucky enough to snag one of those.

Source: Travel + Leisure

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But I still managed to snag a well-priced ticket when I decided to fly Frontier home to Texas for Christmas 2018.

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I started in the Frontier app and punched in my destination details to look for flights.

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These were my search results. I opted for the flight that cost $178.80, one way.

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The itinerary required a 4-hour layover in Denver, which I wasn’t thrilled about.

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The ticket was cheap for the busy and expensive holiday season.

Source: Insider and Kayak

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But Frontier is a “no frills” airline with a big focus on an “a la carte” payment system. Meaning you pay extra if you want to select a seat, check a bag, and bring a carry-on.

Source: Frontier

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Paying for baggage online well before your flight is cheaper.

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You’ll pay $38 for a checked bag or a carry-on bag if you purchase the baggage during the period between booking and 24 hours before check-in.

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If you wait until you get to the airport ticket counter, you’re looking at a $50 charge for either. Also, “elite” frequent flyers get a free checked and a free carry-on bag per flight.

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Since it was the same price for both, and I was going to be home for two weeks, I chose to purchase a checked bag for $38, sending my total flight costs to $216.80.

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This was my baggage situation — a large suitcase that I would check and a small (and free!) “personal item” holding my laptop and other things.

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I checked into my flight 24 hours before departure, and my mobile boarding passes appeared in my Frontier app.

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The airline also highly stresses the need to get to the airport at least two hours before departure. Reminders pop up in the emails for your flight reservations and are displayed on the airline’s website and on signs at the airport.

Source: Frontier

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So I showed up to San Francisco International Airport at 10 a.m., about three hours before my scheduled departure.

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I found a row of Frontier self-service kiosks when I walked in.

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I had my mobile boarding pass …

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… but I was curious if Frontier charged passengers for printed ones at the airport like its fellow budget airline Spirit reportedly did at one point.

Source: Inc and TripAdvisor

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But the kiosk spat my boarding passes out at me without asking for payment.

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I collected my boarding passes and headed to the ticket counter to check my suitcase.

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To my right I could see the ticket counter for Southwest Airlines …

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… and to my left was Delta’s. Even from afar I could see the counter decked out in Christmas decorations.

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My airline’s counter was a tad less festive. It was about 10:30 a.m. at this point, and the counter was completely unstaffed.

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But I figured that since I was told to show up two hours ahead of departure that someone would arrive by 11 a.m., so I waited patiently.

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Others weren’t so patient. Some began angrily calling Frontier customer service phone lines, and one woman went to an information center in the airport to find some answers.

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Another woman claimed that she had even missed her flight because the Frontier ticket counter had been unstaffed for so long.

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Eventually a Frontier representative showed up when I was expecting: around 11 a.m.

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But I wasn’t sure if it was because airport staff had been notified of the counter’s lack of attendance or because that’s when the attendant had planned to arrive at the desk.

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The attendant was also snide and rude, dismissing passengers that complained to her about the lack of attendance.

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The attendant explained that the Frontier employees who work the ticket counter also double as gate agents.

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Frontier’s website advises passengers that check-in for each flight closes 45 minutes prior to departure. So if the woman who claimed she missed her flight showed up to check her bag past that time, it would make sense as to why she had missed her flight.

Source: Frontier.

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The attendants that were staffing the ticket counter would have had to move to the gate counters to assist passengers there.

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A Frontier Airlines representative later told me in an email that staff rotation in an airport, from the ticket counter to departure gate, is “industry standard.”

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Since I had been at the counter at least two hours before my scheduled departure, I was fine. I made it through security and to my gate with plenty of time to spare.

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But the whole incident left me frazzled. Did this happen often with Frontier passengers? I charged my phone and read a book until boarding started.

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I had the lowly “Zone 3” stamped on my boarding pass, so I waited my turn to queue up at the gate.

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This was only the beginning of the wait time I’d endure throughout the day.

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Onward into the cabin!

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For the flight from San Francisco to Denver, I’d be flying on an Airbus A320, one of Frontier’s 84 aircraft in its all-Airbus fleet.

The airline’s average fleet age is about 4 years old.

Source: Air Fleets

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I made my way toward my seat, which reminded me more of a lawn chair than an airplane seat.

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Here’s a side view of seats on a separate Frontier flight. They were thin, with hardly any backing, and unlike the more cushioned seats I’ve encountered on other flights, these seats were tough.

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These “lawn chairs” are actually slimline seats airlines around the world have been using in recent years to save weight and create space for additional rows of seating on an aircraft.

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I didn’t pay to select my seat, so I was assigned 27B, a middle seat. But I got lucky — a passenger sat to my left but no one sat to my right in the aisle seat. I scooted over to claim it before we took off.

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As usual for flights of this length, there were no pillows or blankets waiting for me at my seat. However, the tray tables were not what I usually find on other airlines I’ve flown with.

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They were dirty, small, and didn’t slide out toward you so you could eat over your plate if you were to buy food.

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I did have plenty of legroom, though my legs are short. The seat pitch — the amount of room between two rows of seats — for the standard economy section was 28 to 29 inches.

Source: Frontier

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That’s less than what you’d find on most major carriers, where seat pitch is usually north of 30 inches. There weren’t any first-class or business-class seats, only “stretch” seats where passengers can pay to get up to 38 inches of pitch.

Source: Business Insider

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My personal item fit under the seat in front of me. I was worried about having to shell out an extra $38 to upgrade it to a carry-on if a flight attendant deemed it too big, but no one even checked to see if it was within proper dimensions.

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I looked up to find familiar airplane features — no smoking signs and other indicators.

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There also weren’t any back-of-seat TV screens, since the airline had done away with them back in 2015 to free up weight on the aircrafts. I usually keep busy on flights by watching movies, so I was a bit peeved that I couldn’t do that.

Source: Business Insider

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Luckily I had the menus to entertainment myself.

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Here’s another aspect of Frontier’s “no frills” experience.

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Nothing is complimentary, except water. Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks go for $2.99 a pop. Cocktails and spirits run for $7.99 each. I defied the system and vowed to wait until we landed to find food.

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The approximately two-hour flight was uneventful and boring. We landed on time at Denver International Airport, where Frontier Airlines is based.

Source: Frontier

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I got a better look at the lawn chair-looking seats on the way off the plane.

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I couldn’t get over how strange and outdated they looked. They also were far from comfortable. They didn’t recline, my backside grew numb midway during the flight, and even if I were tired, sleep would have been out of the question.

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I disembarked from the first leg of my journey at around 4:30 p.m. MT.

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The assigned gate, A40, for the next leg was serving passengers for other flights.

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I scoped out the area of the airport where I’d be spending the next four hours, give or take.

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I’ve never had such a lengthy layover while flying.

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My total travel time from baggage drop-off in San Francisco to baggage claim in Austin, Texas, was about 10 hours.

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Four of those hours were spent wandering around the Denver airport keeping myself busy.

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It’s not the worst airport to be stuck in though.

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The Wall Street Journal named the Denver International Airport the best in the country in 2018.

Source: Denver Post

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I grabbed a glass of wine at Denver ChopHouse & Brewery …

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… had way too much fun on those moving walking path things …

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… and meandered to an upper level where the airline lounges were located.

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I looked up to see passengers lounging comfortably in the exclusive airline clubs. Lucky ducks.

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I chose a row of cold, hard-lined seats instead …

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… and settled in for a long winter’s nap.

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Though it was difficult to snooze with bright florescent lights shining down on me and people walking by so often.

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So I took to Netflix to pass the time. I highly recommend Ellen Degeneres’s most recent standup comedy special.

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I grabbed some snacks from an airport shop before finally making it to my gate.

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This time my destination of Austin was displayed below the gate number. I was weary and tired at this point.

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I was again one of the last to board, since I was Zone 3.

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This plane was a 14-year-old Airbus A319. My seat this time was the window seat in row 23.

Source: Air Fleets

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I was looking at a seat pitch of 28 to 29 inches again, and seats were arranged in a 3-3 layout like before.

Source: Frontier

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The lawn chairs were back …

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… as were the microscopic tray tables.

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The legroom was the same …

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… and like last time, my personal item fit snugly under the seat in front of me without incident.

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Finally, at 11:02 p.m. CT, about 10 hours after I’d checked my suitcase in San Francisco, we landed in Austin, Texas. Home at last!

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Frontier had recently switched operations to the South Terminal of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. I walked across the tarmac toward baggage claim, passing other Frontier aircraft.

Source: KXAN

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I didn’t have to wait long for my giant green suitcase to appear on the conveyer belt.

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And so my first experience flying Frontier came to an end.

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In short, it was … mediocre. Painfully mediocre.

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Simply put, I got what I paid for.

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Flying with a budget airline like Frontier seems to be the best option when you don’t have any bags to check or carry on, …

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… if you don’t value being served complimentary food and drinks while in-flight …

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… and if you don’t mind long layovers.

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Basically if you’re alright with sacrificing the bells and whistles of flying, Frontier is an adequate, affordable flying option.

Source: Biz Journals

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They of course don’t want you to sacrifice those things though. They try to get you to pay for add-ons from the time you book to when you’re on the plane.

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I could see flying with the airline as a good option for a quick trip, one that would entail maybe even being able to pack all of your belongings in a personal item.

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That way the only cost would be the base ticket.

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If you have to check a bag or carry one on, like I had to, the costs of flying Frontier can equal or even surpass that of the full-service airlines.

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My travel philosophy when it comes to booking is to fly whichever airline is offering the best deal and/or price, so these ultra-low-cost airlines are appealing.

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They’ve made such a splash that major airlines like American, United, and Delta have adapted to cater to low-cost travelers, adding on Basic Economy fares to their flights.

Read my colleague Benjamin Zhang’s recent review of a Delta Basic Economy experience.

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I would fly with Frontier again, as long as the airline offered a good deal and if I could travel light, with only a small personal item.

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If you do the same, just be prepared for the compromises you have to make when you fly an ultra-low-cost airline. And, if you want to fully take advantage of the benefits of flying one, don’t be tempted along the way by all the add-ons, like paying to select your seat.