Never, ever, fly with Frontier.
Minneapolis to Portland, OR, through Denver two weeks ago: Arrived in Minneapolis only to be told my flight was an hour late due to maintenance, and I would be missing my connection. The next available flight was two days from then, but they told me I might be able to squeeze on an earlier flight standby. I tried to get more information about my chances of getting on a standby flight, and the woman at the gate told me I should just go to Denver because the customer service folks there would know better. Basically, to strand myself in Denver because she didn't know how to do her job. "I'm new here," she said.
The flight was not one but four hours late out of Minneapolis. The whole time a man on a walkie-talkie standing next to me at the gate was watching out the window and yelling instructions at the employees fixing the plane. It was no surprise to me that the plane needed maintenance, because it looked incredibly old when I got on. Disgusting.
In Denver, I had missed my connection by several hours. Customer service told me I would likely have to try my luck at a standby flight the next morning. I asked if they would put me up at a hotel, and they said no, they do not offer compensation for delays due to weather. I told them, no, it was not due to weather, but due to maintenance, which they not only told me in Minneapolis, but I saw it being done on the plane. They refused to admit there was any cause other than weather. The woman at customer service told me I should sleep on the airport floor. "Plenty of people do it."
When I called my mother to tell her I would be delayed until the next day, she called Frontier customer service on my behalf. After a half hour on hold, they readily admitted to her that the delay was due to maintenance and that I was entitled to a hotel room for the night.
Weirdest part: I tweeted my frustrations about the airline while I was stuck in Denver, including Frontier's twitter handle. Their customer service twitter tweeted back to ask me more about my complaints. I explained that my flight was delayed, resulting in a missed connection, and gave the flight number. I expected a generic, polite apology, but instead I got back, "yes, that flight was delayed due to weather." I responded, "no, that was a misunderstanding, the flight was delayed for maintenance, as customer service explained." The response to that was that the maintenance had been delayed due to weather in Kansas City the day before, so the "real" reason for the delay was still weather. So, basically, any weather in the world the same week as your flight exempts Frontier from taking responsibility for any delays, ever. Don't expect even the most basic compensation from this airline.
Today I was supposed to fly home to Minneapolis. Having learned my lesson, I checked the status of the flight this morning, only to find (surprise, surprise) that it was delayed for several hours and I would once again be missing my connection. I tried to call customer service, but found I would be on hold for over an hour, giving me no choice but to head to the airport to try and rebook my flight. Apparently there are very few airlines that Frontier partners with for rebooking customers, so they could only get me on a flight the next day. They told me I was welcome to buy a direct ticket for later that day with another airline, but would not be compensated for it. I muttered that I was fine flying out the next day, but I would rather fly with a different airline, and, to my surprise, the Frontier employee agreed with me! "Don't worry, you won't be flying with us tomorrow."
Bottom line: Frontier flights are always late, customer service is rude and inconsistent, and even the employees know the airline is terrible. read more
