Should I fly Frontier?
 

I don't think I've ever flown Frontier. I am flying PHL-MSP next month, and have a choice between F9 and AA. Same fare, both nonstop, the time on the Frontier flight is slightly more convenient. No status on AA and the miles I'll earn will be inconsequential to me in the overall scheme of things.

I read some reviews of F9 on a generic reviews website, but they are probably from infrequent fliers whining about the awful service we get on every airline.

Which should I pick? Does it matter?

I'm a road warrior, so I'll defer to another FTer who actually flies Frontier. But, personally I'd never consider F9 in this situation.

Frontier has one published flight daily between PHL and MSP. If that flight gets cancelled, you'll probably be stuck since F9 does not have interline agreements to place you on another carrier.

In comparison, a quick search on the AA website shows 40+ daily flight combinations that will get you from PHL to MSP. If none of those flights work, it's theoretically possible for AA to place you on another carrier like Delta or United.

The likelihood that your F9 will be cancelled is small. Still, absent a more compelling reason than a slightly inconvenient flight time, I'd go for AA.

For the same fare go AA. The only reason to fly Frontier is low fares.

I'd fly AA if I were you. I don't mind flying the ULCC's when they save me a significant amount of money, but if the fare is the same and the schedule is only marginally better, I would definitely fly AA.

If you are North of Philly you might consider trying TTN for a cheaper price, though the time is alot different from PHL.

Fly AA if you want a hassle free experience.

Fly F9 (s/b 9F - as in something worse than 4F) If you thrive on uncertainty, feedlot environments, and incompetence.

Was a Summit (F9's top tier) for 1 yr (thankfully it finally expired) - best memory was trying to ck bags, I had the regular TA, a supervisor and telephone support all working on it. I was early for my flight (as usual). It took 40 minutes to get bags ck'd thru to final destination. Felt sorry for the long line of people that accumulated during our "Frontier adventure".

I flew frontier for most of the past decade and I don't recall any particularly bad experiences. The handful of flights I have taken this year were fine as well. In fact, they may have been a bit better than the flights from late last year. The gate agents are no longer making people stand in line to size their bags and there is now plenty of overhead storage space.

I now fly United, where my status gets me a better seat more often than on Frontier. But on those rare occasions when United doesn't serve the city I'm going to, I'll pick Frontier over, say, Southwest. The few times I flew AA, they got me where I needed to go.

Obviously, your mileage may vary.

what does Frontier do when the flight is delayed due to mechanical reasons and there is no later flight? do the passengers just sleep in the terminal or go home?

I just took the CLE-RDU yesterday. Brand new A320. Denver based crew. Fox on the tail. A few minutes late taking off. FA joked with me saying the seats are one step up from a lawn chair. That much was true. No recline and pretty thin. Dismal leg room. But for such a short flight I had no real worries. I arrived safely.

Frontier has no interline agreements so in cases of IRROPS you're pretty much on your own. They'll book you on the next available flight out, which could be as much a as a week away for low frequency routes. They certainly won't pay for your hotel though. Just one of the things to be aware of in case things go wrong.

It will be interesting to see if the numbers were the result of all the changes and begin to improve as Frontier ggains experiance with the new methods and as passengers get used to their new business plan. Frontier made a choice to make a lot of changes at once, concentrationg the pain, rather than stringing it out. This way they have an opportunity to show significant improvement quickly.

I'd point out the for much of 2014 Southwest had very low on time performance and their complaint numbers barely budged.

If the price is the same, go with AA.

it's no United.... As much as I dislike United sometimes, they did put me up
for one night at the Hilton in Hawaii because one of the two engines had
issues. They also threw in free dinner and breakfast. The next morning all of
us were picked up by a chartered but back to HNL. (then the plane sat on the
run way for another 3 hours because of a faulty flaps indicator)