What is up with Classic Plus? I thought per the web-site I was supposed to get free premium drinks, free TV, and snack. I requested bottled water and energy drink and they charged me. I had to give them my credit card.

Am I supposed to let them know that I've paid for a service? Heck, my TV had already shut off, so I just figured they know what seat I'm in (early booking which did work) so I must have been wrong. Tried finding information in the inflight magazine and nothing noted what I was supposed to get.

Anyway, the $70 I paid extra on my flight was worthless. Yes, I know that stuff doesn't add up to that amount, but I need the possible 100% refund. It was Final Four weekend and I didn't know if I'd be leaving on Sunday or Tuesday. The free stuff was supposed to be the icing on the cake on whichever flight I took.

Furthermore, the free premium drinks is not described in detail for a limit or not. And the in flight magazine makes no mention of the information. I could have said "Hey, I'm a big shot and my stuff is free" but think that the airline should have seating chart identifying who has free stuff. How am I supposed to get TV without swiping a card? Air Canada was good about it and knew where there prepaid passengers sat.

On the flights I've been on, the FA's walk through the plane with a list of Classic Plus, Ascent and Summits. They then scan their card through the TV to activate it. The implementation of Classic Plus didn't change that since they were already doing it for Ascent and Summits. I've never seen them miss that although I've had a couple times over the years where I swapped seats to accomodate a couple who wanted to sit together and had to tell them I had switched seats.

Did you see them walking through the plane with a list and swiping their employee card into the TV? Did you raise the issue with them?

As for the energy drink and water, the web site says "[s]elect an alcoholic beverage, a bottle of water, or an energy drink." Not sure if that means an (as in one) or an (as asking the FA whenever they come through). Did you tell them you were flying on a Classic Plus fare?

Finally, did you book over their website or through Orbitz/Travelocity etc. I think there are some problems translating the fare system on to third party sites.

I am a big fan of Frontier but the Free TV as a Summit has been a point of annoyance for me, some crews are great and start swiping as soon as they pass the 10k foot chime, in fact some do it while we are taxiing! Then there are others who take their sweet time to get started, and stop to talk to every passanger on the way. Nothing more annoying than getting into a show during a long taxi, then losing it for ten minutes when the TV times out before they swipe. I know I could sit closer to the front, but I really like the extra legroom in 11A/F.

For the other points, OP should have just politely asked "don't I get those free on a Classic Plus fare?" I've also seen them give a free sandwitch to someone who swiped their own card without realizing that they got the TV for free on their fare type... certainly no reason they had to do that but very nice of them to do so.

You're right about the delay. I've never seen them miss it but sometimes they do take their time getting back to 11 A/F. Seems like all the other Summitts and Ascents sit up front (which is the way I think it should stay )

You should have had the "Plus" stamp on your ticket. That is the backup in case there is an issue with the manifest, which occasionally will occur.

Personally, I would have said something instead of just paying, I don't know why you did that.

As for what to do now, I guess you could contact customer relations and request a refund. Between your CC statement and their records, they should be able to figure out how much they owe you.

Frontier Airlines Customer Relations, open M-F 8am-5pm MST, Toll-Free: 800-265-5505

Select Option 2, then Option 1.

Checko

skent7511, welcome to FT, and welcome to F9. I understand some of your concerns, but please allow for me to comment. You touched on the key point of Classic Plus -- you needed the possible 100% refund. This is a huge benefit of those who fly F9. If you needed the flexibility of a refundable fare, all carriers I know of require you to buy the "refundable" fare, which is generally a full Y fare. Depending on how far in advance you purchase your ticket, flight availability, and routing, you will find that the Classic Plus fares offered can be significantly lower than a full Y fare. And as your admitted, it was only $70 more from the economy (lowest) fare to the Classic Plus (refundable) fare. It's a rarity that the difference between the lowest available fare and refundable fare is only $70. Sometimes it's hundreds, or even thousands.

Regarding the benefits of Classic Plus, you receive pre-boarding (you mentioned you did receive), free DirecTV (you mentioned you did receive), a premium seat (I assume you did not sit a middle seat), 2 free checked bags (if you did check bags at all), and a complimentary snack and premium beverage. The AirFair's information is largely displayed on the F9 homepage, and when you click on it, it specifically tells you what you get with your ticket. If you read under the drink/snack, it says "complimentary snack" and "complimentary premium beverage" which is singular, meaning one. Also, there is a question mark box by each item, stating you can choose one item from Grizwald's Gourmet Cafe and one choice of a bottle of water, alcoholic beverage, or energy drink.

If you didn't receive the drink or snack, then I can see you being possibly out $10, but to pursue any recourse from F9 probably won't get you anywhere. The bigger picture and selling point for the Classic Plus fare is the flexibility in terms of ticketing. While you may not have used the ticketing options available due to schedule changes on your part, it was there, and available the entire time. Sounds like everything else that came with the ticket was available to you, and provided.

I don't justify you not getting the drink and/or snack, because you certainly were entitled to it, and shouldn't have had to pay for it. But did you kindly ask the F/A if one or more drinks/snacks (even though it is only one) would be provided with a Classic Plus fare? If you were indeed on a Classic Plus fare, then you were on the manifest as booking so. Or perhaps that F/A didn't have the manifest? Hard to say without being there.

No attack intended, just trying to have you look at it from the F9 side. But either way, again, welcome to FT and F9!

I struck up a conversation with an FA in the back galley when I went for a glass of water. We were talking about how many people actually pay the $5.99 for TV and he said not many. Even on the shorter flights with $3.99 TV it's not a large percentage. I told him I just carry my ipod with a few TV shows from itunes and watch that rather than pay the fee. He went on to explain that he knew of several people who carried those pre-paid VISA cards with a $0 balance and would swipe those for free TV. Since the system doesn't communicate in real-time with the ground it goes ahead and authorizes. When the system syncs up, it can't get charged. I was shocked the FA actually said this.

On another note. I've done the buy-on-board thing and they really need to change their biller name on the credit card. When my boss sees "Live TV" on corp card expense report he gets a little twitchy.

CAB747 - You are right on all accounts. However, I think as a customer service standpoint, DenverF9Flier has it right that it is annoying to miss part of programs and they can improve on their service.

I could have spoken up and said something and probably should have said something. I'm not inexperienced flyer, have had companion pass on SWA for over 6 or 7 years. Flown just about every domestic airline out there.

It seems to me that the easiest way to accomodate all customers is that at the beginning of the flight they swipe the cards for TV by checking manifest and/or ask for all Classic Plus customers to identify themselves to the FA. I understand the FA are busy people, but this would probably work. Do it before the beverage cart comes out and then there isn't a delay.

As to why I didn't say anything, I can't really tell you, other than I was tired having only had 3 hours sleep. In a way, I was also doing my own test related to the customer service. The money I'd spent isn't huge, but it would have been nice to even see something explained in their in flight magazine. Tell it like it is, and then say if you have one of these fares, let the FA know so that you can be identified as such a customer.

Again, I'm more disappointed in the fact that they don't have a policy/procedure to identify the ClassicPlus customers right from the start.

I do like Frontier as an airline and have even booked family on it for other flights. I just give up the freedom of Southwest Airlines. I had multiple flights covered for free or fare based and knew I could cancel without penalty and use the credits later on. Furthermore, the companion pass can't be beat by any airline credit program that I'm aware exists. Frontier and SWA are by far the premier airlines servicing Denver and beyond. I've been screwed so much by United that I will pay more to avoid using them.

As an FYI, they do have a policy and have gone through the manifest on my flights. Can't say they're 100 percent though.

That's exactly what they do...

The manifest identifies anyone who is an Ascent, Summit, Classic, or Classic Plus passenger. In addition, just in case there is an oversight somewhere, the tickets are printed or stamped "Classic" or "Plus" depending on your level. As for a blurb in the magazine, I don't know if its really that necessary to tell people to ask/expect for what they have paid for, they aren't United.

Like you said, Frontier is a good airline, but they can only do so much before people have to just speak up. Beyond what is given to them prior to the door being closed, the FA's don't have much else to go on. Simply showing them your ticket would have saved you the inconvenience of paying for something twice, that test should have ended sometime while on the flight.

Checko

If it's any consolation, I was recently on a flight from SNA-DEN and the Flight Attendants NEVER came through the cabin to activate the TV. I had purchased a "Classic" fare and knew I was entitled to it, but it was my first time flying Frontier and didnt know how it was activated.

BTW - the legroom is hideous on Frontier's planes.....

You should probably contact Frontier about that. They are supposed to come through the cabin and activate the TV, if its functioning on that flight.

Checko