SRQ Guy

I've got a TPA-DEN-TPA roundtrip coming up this weekend. Is Stretch Seating more comfortable than regular seating? I know it has more legroom, but do the seats have more padding?

It's $45. I'll just do The Perks if I do it, because Stretch + a checked or carry-on bag is slightly more than the Perks.

wallyboag

The stretch seats recline, while the regular seats do not. If reclining is important to you, then I would go with stretch, especially as TPA-DEN is a pretty long flight. Other than that, the seats feel pretty much the same to me as the regular seats.

If you do go with stretch, I would recommend row 2 instead of row 1.

SRQ Guy

I made the jump. Row 3 both ways as that's all that was available besides the exit row, and I'm traveling with my 10 year old daughter.

diburning

Just FYI, if you have a carry-on, (depending on space/crew) you'll have to put it in an overhead bin behind you (sometimes many rows away) as the overhead bins over Rows 1-3 are reserved for the bulkhead row (1).

SRQ Guy

We are not in a great hurry once we arrive at DEN, so this is not a big deal if it happens. I appreciate the heads-up though!

token385

And don't forget that the stretch seats also have a full size tray table

HomerJay

Agreed. The recline and the extra space make it worth your while. The recline mechanism can be a little tricky to find. The first time I sat there, I didn't realize until quite late into the flight that it was a reclining seat, and didn't see how to make it recline. It's not the traditional button to push.

RustyC

The seats help if you're tall but don't have any more width. If memory serves you need to feel around the right side near the front of the cushion for the small recline lever.

The exit row is also a stretch seat and has a way of attracting large people trying to re-seat in mid-flight. FAs are inconsistent about shooing them away if they didn't pay (though with longer flights you're more likely to have fuller sections from elites or those who paid).

legalalien

How tight is the legroom in row 1? It is all that's available for my flights next week.
ETA: Equipment is A321, if it matters.

wallyboag

The leg room is about the same as row 2, however the bulkhead means you cannot put your feet under the seat in front of you. Also, since you can't put your feet under the seat in front of you, you also can't put your stuff there, so all items have to go in the overhead compartment for takeoff (they save some space in the compartment exclusively for row 1 for this reason). There's still more room than the regular seats, just not as much nor as convenient as the second and third row.

nsx

I figure that large customers are bound to fill the stretch seating rows, whereas regular rows are more likely to have an empty middle. True?

rsteinmetz70112

My experience is that the stretch seats often fly empty. I guess people looking for a cheap ticket aren't willing to spend the extra money.

I was a Frontier Elite for a while and I was always able to upgrade at the gate and often sat in a row alone. Of course that was almost 2 years ago. I liked Frontier, I only stopped flying them because they dropped my most frequent route.

nsx

Most of $45 front row seats are already assigned on this flight, probably because it's a red-eye and some people need the legroom to sleep.

I guess it's too much to hope that the load will be so low that entire rows will be empty in the back.

rsteinmetz70112

Red Eyes and coast to coast flights may be different. Most of my flights were relatively short

wallyboag

From what I have seen flying the red eye between LAX and MCO and back a couple of times and once from SNA to DEN and back (so six flights, YMMV), the entire plane was sold out except for on two flights, where there were maybe 5 or 6 seats on the entire plane that were empty. I think that Frontier aggressively prices its flights to make sure that every seat is full. I would not count on any middle seat being empty.

One thing I did notice was that as the check in time came around and seats were being automatically assigned, the seats in the back of the plane (save for the last row which I believe is kept open until the very last minute to seat families with small children together if needed) were assigned first, working its way up to the front. Because of this, my guess is that you would be more likely to have an empty middle seat towards the front of the plane than towards the rear. However, again, I wouldn't count on this because every flight I have been on has been mostly or completely full.