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Compensation due to having to book other airline?

Compensation due to having to book other airline?

Old Jul 12, 2018, 1:28 pm
  #1  
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Post Compensation due to having to book other airline?

About a month ago, I was boarding a Frontier flight (Denver to Las Vegas, costing $78) to catch my international flight out of Las Vegas at 11:50pm the night of June 22nd. When I showed up to the airport in Denver for Frontier Flight #F9 765, it said it was delayed 1 hour. A 1 or 2 hour delay would have still made it possible to catch my connecting flight in Las Vegas. However, this flight ended up being delayed for over 4 hours, forcing me to purchase a ticket at the gate from a different airline in Denver to Las Vegas, Southwest Flight #2422 , costing $339.98. Luckily this flight arrived in Las Vegas in time to catch the connecting flight.

I contacted Frontier about this issue and they refunded the $78 flight cost and a $70 voucher, but the support woman via email refused to give any further compensation. In this case is it fair to expect the $339 be compensated to me? I thought they would refund that as the expense was entirely caused by Frontier and had I missed the connection in Vegas the costs would have been $1,000+. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
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Old Jul 12, 2018, 2:54 pm
  #2  
 
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I think you did well to get the refund and the $70 voucher from Frontier.

On rare occasions that I use different carriers for a trip as you have done, I allow myself many hours connection time and I avoid Frontier (and other LCC's) as they have such a limited route network that any delay or cancellation can cause a huge problem.
UA has 6 flights per day non-stop DEN - LAS...

I am a big fan of Frontier. I fly with them many times each year, but only non-stops to LAS and Florida, and only when I can afford to be delayed a day or two in the event of a cancellation.
With probably 50 flights over the past 2-3 years, I have only had 1 delay of a few hours and 1 cancellation that got me home a day late.
Both times I received a $100 voucher

side note: Frontier vouchers are not nearly as valuable as other carriers. The person it is issued to is the only one that can use it, and they retain no residual value.
I tried to use one for myself and a family member on the same reservation, and it discounted my portion of the fare, but not the other passenger. Also, they have a short, 90 day expiration.
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Old Jul 12, 2018, 2:55 pm
  #3  
 
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I doubt Frontier will give any additional compensation.You made the decision to book Frontier and attempt to connect to an International flight on your own, probably to save money. Had you booked on the same airline or a code share partner then that airline would have had an obligation to get you to your final destination. If the issue was under Frontiers control (mechanical or crew issue) Frontier was only obligated to get you to your final destination on Frontier or refund your money. That they did more than that is commendable as they could have legitimately denied any compensation since you chose to take another carrier for your own reasons.

.
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Old Jul 12, 2018, 3:25 pm
  #4  
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Originally Posted by pjkcards1
I contacted Frontier about this issue and they refunded the $78 flight cost and a $70 voucher, but the support woman via email refused to give any further compensation. In this case is it fair to expect the $339 be compensated to me? I thought they would refund that as the expense was entirely caused by Frontier and had I missed the connection in Vegas the costs would have been $1,000+. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
You did extremely well to get an extra $70.
No airline (or business) pays consequential loses. You made the choice to book separate tickets, so the risk was 100% yours. Did you claim on your travel insurance? A less risk adverse person would have flown the day before to the airport of the international flight.
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Old Jul 12, 2018, 4:11 pm
  #5  
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A one word answer: No.

You were entitled to a refund of your ticket to your original form of payment. The $70 was a customer service gesture, not compensation. If you check the contract you agreed to when you purchased your ticket, you will see that you agreed not to seek consequential damages, e.g., the cost of the WN ticket.

Note that you did not have a connection in LAS because you were on separate tickets. Had you no showed for your LAS departure, you would have had to purchase a new ticket for your international flight as well.

It is possible that your travel insurance will cover the extra cash you had to pay to WN, but most policies do not. Nonetheless, worth reading your policy.
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Old Jul 13, 2018, 12:56 pm
  #6  
 
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I had a similar experience with Frontier Airlines on June 27th. They were to fly us out on the 27th (Wednesday) from Philadelphia to Charlotte, direct flight. We were delayed 3 times, then cancelled. The best that they could offer us was to fly us out on Friday, 2 days later!! That was unacceptable. We had to be back at work the following morning. Our options were to either be refunded or wait until Friday to get home. We had purchased flight insurance. We decided to be refunded and purchased tickets on another airline to get us home that day. Our flight insurance is NOT reimbursing us?? They stated that it was due to the wording on the Policy Certificate by Frontier Airlines. I don't understand the purpose of having flight insurance if it is not for cancelled last minute flights...
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Old Jul 13, 2018, 1:40 pm
  #7  
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Originally Posted by vbiggs101
I had a similar experience with Frontier Airlines on June 27th. They were to fly us out on the 27th (Wednesday) from Philadelphia to Charlotte, direct flight. We were delayed 3 times, then cancelled. The best that they could offer us was to fly us out on Friday, 2 days later!! That was unacceptable. We had to be back at work the following morning. Our options were to either be refunded or wait until Friday to get home. We had purchased flight insurance. We decided to be refunded and purchased tickets on another airline to get us home that day. Our flight insurance is NOT reimbursing us?? They stated that it was due to the wording on the Policy Certificate by Frontier Airlines. I don't understand the purpose of having flight insurance if it is not for cancelled last minute flights...
What did your policy say?

When you purchase travel insurance, make sure that you read the policy carefully and that it covers the risks you need to cover. If you booked Frontier and also purchased a policy which does not cover the full purchase price of the new ticket less than refund, then you purchased the wrong policy.

Problems like this will always occur with Frontier because it does not interline with other domestic carriers and it lacks sufficient backup aircraft and crew. What looks like a good deal may turn out to be very expensive.
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Old Jul 17, 2018, 4:43 pm
  #8  
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Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated.

Originally Posted by Often1
A one word answer: No.

You were entitled to a refund of your ticket to your original form of payment. The $70 was a customer service gesture, not compensation. If you check the contract you agreed to when you purchased your ticket, you will see that you agreed not to seek consequential damages, e.g., the cost of the WN ticket.

Note that you did not have a connection in LAS because you were on separate tickets. Had you no showed for your LAS departure, you would have had to purchase a new ticket for your international flight as well.

It is possible that your travel insurance will cover the extra cash you had to pay to WN, but most policies do not. Nonetheless, worth reading your policy.
Will look into if the card has travel insurance or not. Thanks.
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Old Jul 20, 2018, 5:51 pm
  #9  
 
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from other forums (airliners.net / pprune.org), it appears Frontier has many unplanned AOG (aircraft on ground) due to maintenance issues this summer.

Also some employees have gone on record saying they are running extremely thin, flying their fleets more hours per day than other narrowbody operators, and not planning enough downtime for maintenance needs that are creeping up.
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