I was definitely not prepared for Frontier. I ended up booking Frontier because they had a 1-stop (no plane change) itinerary from CVG-SEA and I wasn't willing to pay $700 for a OW Y ticket to Delta for their non-stop. I was expecting something more similar to the B6 experience but got something more like Spirit or Allegiant. Several things that stood out to me:

- Those that don't choose seats in advance (via a flyfrontier.com booking or paying for stretch seating) don't get seats until they get to the gate instead of getting them at checkin, if all that remains is stretch seating. This results in the gate agent doing things that the FAs later have to fix - like separating 8 year olds from their parents and the like. I don't blame the gate agent but it's something that could easily be noticed by a check in agent and fixed on the spot. This jockeying led to the FA getting into an argument with me in an attempt to convince me to move back to an exit row after I had paid to be in row 2... and also led to our flight being late.

- Charging for drinks sucks. It just makes me feel angry and bitter at them as a passenger. I didn't know the water was "free" (and they didn't mention it) - I only saw the $1.99 bottle of water in the services pamphlet. I flat out refused to be a party to that and didn't buy any beverages.

- Baggage service at SEA was slow (about 40 minutes after getting to the gate did luggage start going down the carousel), but I am used to AS's 20 minute guarantee so perhaps that's just me having higher expectations around baggage handling.

I can't imagine what will happen once they start charging $100 for a carry-on at the gate. The vast majority of people on the two flights I flew were clearly once-a-year or less fliers and I could easily see those folks making a scene at the gate. Most people know what they are getting into with Spirit and Allegiant but I think it will take some time for Frontier to build a similar reputation.

For my part I will avoid flying Frontier in the future unless I'm stuck in the same situation I was in, where one of the legacies want a ton of money and Frontier's significantly cheaper.