Frontier Airlines EarlyReturns - Premium Beverages on Frontier

Greetings all- new to posting on FT, and fairly new to Frontier... On a recent trip out to Denver, I flew Frontier as opposed to my usual airline of preference (no points for guessing which one). I have to confess, I was pretty impressed by the premium drink lineup given their positioning as a low-cost airline- including the offering of my whiskey of choice (Jack Daniels Single Barrel) and a really good Pinot Noir(La Crema). Is there anyone else out there as impressed by this lineup as I am? UA could learn something from these guys!

Welcome to the F9 forum STLFreqFlyer!

I must agree with you that Frontier has a pretty good drink collection. They recently added Fat Tire to their beer selection as well as Jameson (Woohoo!) to their liquors.

You only need 25k miles to get Summit and get them for free too!

Frontier does have a pretty nice mix of premium drinks, and I noticed (what I believe to be) a "new" pair on the January service guide...white and chocolate milk. It's Horizon organic milk, and it's $1.50.

Now I think milk had been offered for free before on F9 and before that YX, however:

(1) It wasn't widely promoted or used.
(2) On the rare occasions when someone asked for milk, it seemed very hit and miss if they had any aboard. A time or two I heard F/A tell someone that milk was only available on flights catered for meal service, but other times I saw someone receive milk on a flight with only cookie service.
(3) It was conventional milk, meaning a relatively short shelf life.

I suspect that this means there's no more free milk, however:

(1) As a published premium beverage, it seems likely to be stocked consistantly...unlike in the past
(2) It's organic, and while that does not really concern me when it comes to milk, it's a "better" product (at least perceived so) they are now charging for.
(3) Like most organic milk, it's ultra-high-pasturized, meaning it has a much longer shelf life
(4) It's white or chocolate

Now that I think about it, I wonder if breakfast flights still have convention milk cartons to accompany the purchase of cold cereal? The Horizon organic milk containers are sort of juicebox-style, which would be awkward (but fun!) to put on your cereal.

Also new (at least to me) wth the January inflight service guide is a cheese and fruit plate listed along with the salad and sandwich meal options.

http://www.flyfrontier.com/flight-info/inflight-catering

Of course the devil is in the details, but it seems like a nice option for a fresh substantial snack. A lot better for you than some of the processed (tasty) packaged food options, especially if you split it with someone. I am a huge fan of the cranberry nut mix, though. :)

Of course those of us who flew the old Midwest Express in the 1984-1998 range were really spoiled (those ribs were k i l l e r) but I think Frontier does a pretty good job with their onboard offerings. My only complaint is that the food cutoff of 700 seems a little arbitrary, and I wish it went a little lower. For example from Denver, AUS and SAT are long enough but DFW at 640 miles is too short. Same with DEN-MSP at 677. From Milwaukee, LGA does (739 miles) but PHL (690 miles) and DCA (634 miles) do not. From Kansas City, SAT at 708 miles qualifies, but AUS (646) HOU (640) and MCI (690) do not. That one makes me smirk a bit, as back when Midwest started charging for onboard meals, MCI-SAT had the lowest uptake in the whole system at one point.

Obviously there needs to be a cutoff someplace, and maybe demand turns a sharp corner around 2:00 block time, which is right about 700 miles. In any case, I do like the reliability of a firm cutoff versus guessing.

Frontier does have a pretty nice mix of premium drinks, and I noticed (what I believe to be) a "new" pair on the January service guide...white and chocolate milk. It's Horizon organic milk, and it's $1.50.



It's disappointing to see that even milk is supplied by a purveyor in Colorado, and not from the dairy state. If it weren't for MillerCoors (and possibly the cookies), all Wisconsin ties would be gone.

Knope- Thanks for posting that link, I hadn't seen that previously.

Im not sure about what the original Midwest had available, but I can definately say this selection is the best I've seen domestically.

Im not much of a beer person, so I really didnt even pay attention to what was offered on my flight, but in seeing it now, it's refreshing to see so many different options that arent out there on everyone else. For a long time it seemed that somehow Miller and Heineken had a total monopoly on airline beer. If I were so inclinded as to have a beer, I would definately prefer the Fat Tire or the Dos Equis to the garbage most folks have.

The food items look great too; it was a bit shocking for me to see a Colorado company that recognized a great deli meat like Dietz & Watson!

I always think there is an advertising angle from the limited selection on board. To this day I still go out of my way for Alterra coffee because I tried it first on YX (in an styrofoam cup with the Alterra logo on it) and liked it. The same goes for Fat Tire beer on F9 for me; if I am enjoying the service on the flight and the flight itself, I will get a favorable impression of a product served. It would be nice if F9 would highlight more Colorado and Wisconsin food and drink, but if I was, say, Usinger's or Sprecher Brewery (sorry I don't know Colorado examples) I would be knocking on F9's door to see if they wanted to carry my product. (That Dietz and Watson sandwich looks good BTW!)

I always think there is an advertising angle from the limited selection on board. To this day I still go out of my way for Alterra coffee because I tried it first on YX (in an styrofoam cup with the Alterra logo on it) and liked it. The same goes for Fat Tire beer on F9 for me; if I am enjoying the service on the flight and the flight itself, I will get a favorable impression of a product served. It would be nice if F9 would highlight more Colorado and Wisconsin food and drink, but if I was, say, Usinger's or Sprecher Brewery (sorry I don't know Colorado examples) I would be knocking on F9's door to see if they wanted to carry my product. (That Dietz and Watson sandwich looks good BTW!)

Fat Tire is a Colorado based beer. I agree that I like when they support "local" companies on their flights. I bet Sprecher root beer would be a hit but I don't think it comes in cans.

The cheese is Beechwood, a genuine small cheese factory in southwest Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.

They are the ones who supplied the cheese curds, which don't seem to be on the menu anymore. IMHO the cheese curds were disappointing because they need to be really fresh, and if not they just taste like mild cheddar cheese (which is what they are, of course.) Plus they need to be room temperature to make them squeak and taste their best.

Pairing different kinds of cheese with crackers, grapes and apple slices mixes it up nicely, too. The cheese curds was a bag 'o cheese. Delicious if the curds are fresh and room temp, but if not you just had a bag 'o cheese.

The cheese is Beechwood, a genuine small cheese factory in southwest Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.


I wonder how you knew about Beechwood. :D:D:D

I wonder how you knew about Beechwood. :D:D:D

LOL..our farm was clear on the other end of the county, and we never sent milk to a cheese factory. Anybody who kept their herd healthy enough and farm clean enough was "Grade A" and sent their milk to a fluid bottling plant. If your failed inspection your farm was downgraded to "Grade B" then your milk wasn't good enough for fluid and you had to send it to a lowly cheese factory...and neighbors talked about you falling to "Grade B" in hushed, shameful tones.

(I don't think that's how it works anymore, and in areas with no bottling plant everybody sends to cheese factories.)

It's disappointing to see that even milk is supplied by a purveyor in Colorado, and not from the dairy state. If it weren't for MillerCoors (and possibly the cookies), all Wisconsin ties would be gone.Huh? You all make milk in Wisconsin? I would have never dreamed it. I thought all milk came from California where they have happy cows.

Regarding Horizon, I think they are the largest organic milk producer in the U.S.A. They started out as little local company here in Colorado until they were gobbled up by the giant corporation, Dean Foods.

Also, MillerCoors is headquartered in Chicago, so can't really count that as a Wisconsin tie beyond the brewery. But, of course MillerCoors' largest brewery in America sits right here in little old Golden, CO.

(That Dietz and Watson sandwich looks good BTW!)

It is. Had it on the DEN-RFD inaugural flight. I'd take it over any grab 'n' go option that I've seen thusfar in an airport, though tbh that's not saying much.

MillerCoors is headquartered in Chicago, so can't really count that as a Wisconsin tie beyond the brewery. But, of course MillerCoors' largest brewery in America sits right here in little old Golden, CO.

MillerCoors has a very sizeable presence in Milwaukee and employs about 1400 in WI. It is the last of the major breweries in Milwaukee, so we still claim it. As Denver has Coors Field, Milwaukee has Miller Park. I call it a split decision, with benefits for both DEN and MKE. :)

I call it a split decision, with benefits for both DEN and MKE. :)+1

Apparently there is a shortage of organic milk...oh the horror. Wonder if this will affect frontier

http://www.dailycamera.com/business/ci_19784656