nsx

An upcoming trip required a redeye flight to the east coast. Frontier had the best option, although its all-in price was high.

After studying the choices, I waited until the fare dropped 20% or so and I bought The Works for an extra $100 or so. That was about 8 weeks ahead of travel. I love refundability when I buy travel. I tried to buy The Works at the airport, but they can't sell it there. So I bought the ticket online.

About 3 weeks ahead of travel the fare dropped another 5%. By this time I decided that I could afford to forego refundability. I went to the ticket counter and bought a new ticket for $19 less than the price quoted for online purchase, and the nice person even assigned a non-middle seat without extra charge. I will have to pay a fee for a carry-on or checked bag, but I will still come out $100 ahead. For other newbies, the $19 fee applies to online and phone bookings but not to purchases at the counter, like the much-despised Ticketron.

I immediately canceled my old booking online. It gives you a travel credit and you have to dig to find the online form to request a refund for a "Works" ticket. I submitted that and just a few hours later I received an email promising a 100% refund of that ticket, including the "Works" add-on fee.

I had thought the initial fares I saw (about $300+fees) were too high to be competitive for most customers, but $200 plus a bag fee for a nonstop transcon advance purchase is in the right ballpark. As long as the flight operates approximately on time, that is.

It pays to learn how to work the system. FT was indispensable to my efforts to get the best deal on my first Frontier booking.

wallyboag

Thank you for posting your experience. I am planning a red eye in about 3 months and was waiting for a promo code before I booked. I think I will try booking at the airport instead, but I will wait until the "magic" 60 day mark to hope for the best possible pricing.

nsx

In my case the magic date was 20 days before travel. I've come to expect the best pricing 4 to 8 weeks ahead, but this case was different. I thought 21 days ahead would be my last chance, and the fare was still high, then it dropped unexpectedly. I think Frontier held the fare too high too long for this particular flight, then they relented.

nsx

They cut the price ANOTHER $11, 13 days before travel. This start high and move lower pricing is unlike anything I've seen at other airlines.

wallyboag

I really think with Frontier it's all about making sure every. single. seat. is. full. period. Even if the "fare" is at a loss, the plane still has to take off, so they sell super cheap and hope to break even in baggage, snacks, seating assignments etc.

It's definitely different than what you'd see with other airlines, but if you are flexible, it makes for a great opportunity to get away over a weekend at the last minute for a good price!

nsx

This makes The Works with its refundability a better deal than it might appear to be. You cap your fare with the ability to swap it out for a much lower fare close to the flight date if the flight is not selling out.

Or you can even switch to an Avios booking if an AA nonstop saver award becomes available late in the game. (In my case Frontier had the only nonstop, so other airlines were a distant second choice.)

nsx

Wow, the fare dropped another $49 one week out. The weird part is that Frontier had held the fares for this flight way above the fares for alternate flights the same day. Now it's much lower than the alternates.

You really need to play chicken to get the best fare if you can afford to lose the game.