Perfectly adequate ... with a touch of charm
Written: Sep 21 '08 (Updated Sep 21 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: cheap prices, friendly employees, cute animals
Cons: slow check-in line, pricy movies, bathroom smell on second flight
The Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend Frontier Airlines for those who don't mind basic travel.
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| tammytkaos's Full Review: Frontier Airlines |
My fiancee and I recently took a wonderful vacation. It was a true case of "planes, trains, and automobiles"; we flew to Albuquerque, drove from there up to Salt Lake City, then traveled home (to Olympia, Washington) via train.
As usual, I booked our flight and motel rooms through Expedia.com. I punched in our travel plans, scanned the options and saw that the cheapest flights were on Frontier Airlines. I only vaguely knew the name, but since I'm really not that picky about air travel, I decided to give them a shot. Why not? I noticed that there was a layover in Denver, but I'm kind of a weirdo in that I don't mind layovers; to me, they add to the excitement of the trip! Plus, I certainly couldn't argue with the price; with that $300 I got from the government, I was able to book both one-way flights and three motel rooms.
The flight
We arrived at Sea Tac airport almost two hours before our 6 a.m. flight. The line for Frontier looked VERY long, and I was filled with a sense of dread as I soon realized that it was not moving. At ALL. I could hear grumbling around me, and I must admit that I muttered a few annoyed words myself. The same passenger stood at the head of the line for a good 15 minutes. I couldn't tell if he was the one causing the holdup, or if the Frontier employees were just incompetent. To me, it looked like they were all just standing there. Occasionally, one (of the two) Frontier employees would glance helplessly at their computer screen.
Even though we had plenty of time, I began to worry about missing our flight. Fortunately, at about that moment, the line finally started to move forward, and in a reasonable amount of time, my fiancee and I found ourselves at the the head of the line. We checked our bags (one each), and a very polite representative handed us our boarding passes. Then we headed for the departure gate.
Our flight seemed to be on schedule. We had enough time for a trip to Starbucks for some coffee and muffins. It was a good thing we got breakfast at the airport; I would soon find out that "snack" offerings on the plane were even more bare-bones than I remembered!
About half an hour before departure, we were called to board. It was an effecient enough process, although for some reason the walkway to the plane seemed much longer than usual. No matter. We entered the plane, were greeted by a couple of smiling flight attendants, then settled into our comfortable seats.
As we waited for takeoff, I noticed that each seat had a little built-in TV screen. Cool! Then I noticed the prices. Not cool! Five bucks for a TV show? Almost ten dollars for a movie?! I don't travel nearly as often as I'd like, but I remember just a few years ago, in-flight movies were free! I don't know if it's just Frontier that charges so much for them now, or if it's every airline. Either way, I was a little disappointed by the prices. But at least I had some books with me. Also, we were able to watch some commercials and free previews on the TV screens, and those proved mildly amusing throughout the flight.
Soon we found ourselves taxi-ing down the runway. Then up and away we went, for our two-and-a-half hour trip to Denver. It was peaceful. The flight attendants were friendly. We did get free beverages, so I guess airlines haven't scaled back on everything (however, there weren't any little packets of cookies or sesame sticks to go with them this time). If someone was really hungry, Frontier offered "snack packs" (which I have seen other airlines offer, as well) but I didn't know what was in them and I didn't even want to know how much they cost.
Denver and Flight #2
We arrived at the Denver airport at about 9:30 a.m. Colorado time, which gave us plenty of time to kill before our 11:30 flight to Albuquerque. It was somewhat crowded, though not overwhelmingly so. I wandered through one of the Hudson bookstores and bought a couple of souvenirs.
The Frontier section of the airport was pretty big, and that morning a handful of representatives were up in front, trying to get people to buy their credit card. One of them stopped my fiancee and me and gave us his pitch. I had to decline his offer. He asked my why, but he was good-humored about it. I explained that we were trying to save up for our wedding, and he wished us luck and let us go on to our seats.
We spent about 45 minutes just waiting for the next flight, which I didn't mind. I glanced around at the different animals all over the walls and on the airplanes outside. Frontier's slogan "We're a whole different animal!" and all of their critter mascots are pretty cute, I have to admit.
Our second flight also left on time. It only took about an hour to get to Albuquerque; however, this flight wasn't quite as pleasant as the last one. We were seated up front, close to the "lavatory", and ... well, it smelled like the lavatory for the duration of our trip. Also, directly behind us were some VERY chatty women with very loud voices, who blabbed through the entire flight. Of course, I can't fault Frontier for the chatty passengers, but I was relieved to finally land and get a break from their booming voices!
On the plus side, the staff on this flight seemed as friendly as ever. Even though it was a short trip, we still got our free beverage. The pilot seemed to have a sense of humor; he gave us updates now and then, and welcomed us to "Bugs Bunny's favorite place to take a left" when we landed in Albuquerque.
Overall
If you're used to first class travel, you might be disappointed by Frontier. However, if you're just looking to get from one place to another, and you don't mind very basic travel (or a stop in Denver) this airline is as good as any. The prices can't be beat, the service is mostly great, and even though they're not really "a whole different animal" I'll give them a few extra points for advertising themselves as such in a charming way. I don't know that I'd go out of my way to travel on Frontier again, but I certainly wouldn't rule them out for my next trip, either.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tammytkaos
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Member: tamara tillinghast
Location: olympia, washington
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
29 years old, radio person, obsessed with music and travel...
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