Trip Report: Frontier Airlines, New Orleans to Atlanta (April 2022)

  Trip Report: Frontier Airlines, New Orleans to Atlanta
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I fly from New Orleans to Atlanta a lot of surprising there are a lot of options.  The standards are Delta, which have a flight almost every hour or so; Southwest which does not as much availability but comes with perks such as free bags; Spirit which has limited availability but comes at a lower cost; and Frontier which only has one flight a day and is comparable to Spirit.  I have flown Delta, Southwest and Spirit on this route many times and used to fly Frontier but they stopped this route.  They have recently reintroduced the route so decided to try them again.

The Frontier flight from New Orleans to Atlanta leaves on at a different time depending on which day

you are traveling.  On the day I was traveling, the flight departed at 4:20pm and arrive into Atlanta at 6:52p; on the next day, the flight left at 7am and arrived into 9am and there was no afternoon flight.  I am not sure what the pairing or timing is but that is Frontier.  Frontier is a low-cost airline so the ticket only includes the seat and a personal item, everything else requires payment.  Frontier, like Spirit, has introduced 'Bundle packages' in which you can bundle a seat, a carry-on, checked baggage and priority boarding.  I have done this many times on Spirit and have always found it beneficial, especially the extra luggage and the priority boarding.  I was only going for a short period so I did not need the extra luggage but the person I was traveling with was going for a longer period and the extra carry-on was $35-40 and the bundle that included everything was $50 so it was more cost-effective to get the bundle; even with the bundle the ticket was less than $100.

Booking the flights on the app is a lot easier than the website - the website for me kept spinning and taking longer than necessary; this is where Spirit wins in the low-cost area as their website is faster (app is slower and a bit useless).  Both Spirit and Frontier do try and upsell you throughout the entire booking process and this is where you can select the various bundles.  I have bundled many times on Spirit and my travel companion bundled with Frontier; the bundle that I normally choose includes a carry-on in addition to your personal item, a checked baggage (at 18kg/40lbs instead of the standard 23kg/50lbs), priority boarding and seat selection.  If you do not choose any of the bundles, then the only thing included in your ticket is a personal item; everything else comes at a cost.  I was able to check-in 24-hours in advance and on Frontier I was given the option at the beginning to buy a seat but then afterwards there was no availability to look at the seat-map; on Spirit you are able to see the seatmap after boarding and potentially move seats within your section.  

The flight was scheduled to depart at 4:20pm and the plane was already at the gate (it had earlier come

from Atlanta) and so boarding started ontime at 3:50pm.  Unlike Spirit, Frontier only made one announcement regarding hand carry items.  Frontier boards in groups and if you purchase a bundle, that includes priority boarding so boarding in Group 1.  I was in group 3 but after group 1 the groups were not really enforced.  The operating aircraft was an Airbus A320 with a 3-3 seat configuration.  The style of the seat, the seat pitch, and the seat width all reminded me of Spirit; Frontier seats even had the tiny tray table similar to Spirit.  Both airlines offer a basic seat that is already 'prereclined' so you cannot recline anymore, the seats are decent but only for short-haul and will be uncomfortable for long-haul, and the seat pitch is tight so decent for short-haul but again would be uncomfortable for long-haul.  Once onboard, I did ask the flight attendant if the flight was full and if I could move; they said the flight was full but that was incorrect as they did allow people to move upfront or to exit rows but did charge them for these moves ($50 to sit in the exit seat).   Everyone boarded and the door closed, we pushed back ontime and headed out to Atlanta.

The flight was very basic and minimal.  Because of tail winds + short flight time + some turbulence, normal inflight service was not going to operate but rather if you wanted something then you had to ring your call bell and you could order directly from the FA's.  Other than that, the flight was very basic and not really exciting.  After 50mins, we started our descent into Atlanta and landed on-time and taxied to the gate.  One thing in the air - the FA's kept mentioning keeping a tidy airplane and that if we could help them since they had to turn the plane to Las Vegas and that 'they were the cleaning crew'.  The FAs also did an odd thing on the ground; I had put my carryon in the overhead above row 3 and I was further back.  When row 3 deplaned, my bag was still there since it would take some time for my row to deplane; but in the meanwhile the FAs was going through the overhead and taking down all the bags that were left and putting them on the seats.   This is fine except this information was not told to the passengers so I only noticed as I was trying to understand what they were doing with bag.  It was very odd.

Overall, it was an interesting experience with Frontier.  Many aspects of the process were similar toother ULCC including Spirit so in that sense at certain aspects you could not tell whether you were flying Frontier or Spirit.  Based on this experience, I would not hesitate to fly Frontier short-haul if the timings were right, the price were right, and it was short-haul.  

Trip Report: Frontier Airlines, Atlanta to New Orleans (July 2015)

Trip Report: Frontier Airlines, Atlanta to New Orleans
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I was looking to fly from Atlanta to New Orleans and originally had looked at Delta and Southwest, as those were the carriers I knew that flew that route.  The average price on both carriers for a one-way flight ranged from $160-$200.  I then went to online travel sites and did a search and that is when I discovered that Frontier Airlines also flies the route – at a much lower cost.  Even booking two days before,  a one-way flight on a Sunday costs $99 (including taxes) which is extremely inexpensive, so I investigated why it was so inexpensive – Frontier is an ultra LCC.  This is flying on the new Frontier

I had previously flown Frontier about 10 years ago through their Denver hub and that is when they were more of a standard carrier; flying on them now, things are a little different as an ultra LCC.  In this model, everything is considered extra and has a charge associated with it.  A carry-on that will fit in the overhead compartment – a charge; a checked-bag – a charge; choosing your own seat – a charge; drinks and food on board – a charge.  The only items that are not charged are a carryon bag that can fit underneath the seat, and a glass of water on board.  While all the ‘extra charges’ may be obnoxious to some, to others it may be the best deal because you only pay for what you need.  For me, it was a good deal given my travel time and needs.

I was flying one-way from Atlanta to New Orleans and was looking for a decent airline that provided a decent service at a reasonable price.   When I looked online, the fare for Frontier was $99 (including taxes). If I wanted to choose a seat, that would cost $5 extra ($10 if I did it at check-in).  I could also choose a seat with extra legroom, and that would cost $12 extra ($20 if I did it at check-in).  If I wanted to bring a bigger carryon and stow it in the overhead, that was a charge of $35 (more if I did at check-in, even more if it was gate-checked).  If I wanted to check a bag, that was a charge of $20 (more if I did at check-in, even more if I did it at the counter).  This is something which surprised me – the checked bag was $15 less than the charge for the carryon.  I guess this means less carryon luggage so faster boarding – just seemed interesting to me.   If I wanted to add all of these items into the price, then the Frontier fare would be comparable to what the other carriers would be charging; however, I did not need any of that stuff so I did not choose that option and my fare was $99.  I booked my ticket and received my confirmation.

24-hours prior to boarding I received an email reminding me to check-in.  Frontier strongly encourages online check-in and printing boarding passes at home – with no check-in luggage and only carryon, printing everything at home meant going directly to security.   I did not pay for a seat when I booked my ticket, nor did I pay for a seat when I checked-in so after check-in and when the boarding pass was ready, that is when I found out my seat number.  Frontier flies all Airbus planes and usually in a 3-3 layout, so if you do not pay for the seat and play the lottery you could end up with a window, middle or aisle.  I was lucky and got an aisle, but it was all the way in the back of the plane.  For some of my family, who prefer an aisle and want to sit closer to the plane we paid the $5 to reserve the seat.  Also, if you do not want to be separated from your group you need to pay.

Boarding pass in hand and with only a carryon (a laptop bag) I went past the airline counters and went directly to security.  This is the only negative I see with Frontier – they do NOT participate in TSA pre-check so if you are part of that (or of Global Entry) then you cannot avail yourself of this option while flying Frontier. TSA pre-check saves so much time so I am not sure why they do not partake, since it would be a benefit to their customers who choose to pay for it.  Since they do not participate in TSA precheck, you have to wait in the long security lines (and they are long at ATL).  The departure time was scheduled for 7:05pm but that is not what is printed on the boarding pass – what is printed are the timings the boarding starts and the time the door closes (which is 15 minutes prior to departure).  This is to ensure an on-time or early departure. 

This new process seemed to have worked as we boarded early, and we were able to push back from the gate early.  In regards to the on-board service, Frontier has talked about ‘reinventing the on-board experience’ which meant slim-line seats, less cushion, already pre-reclined seats that could not be adjusted, less leg room, and other cost-cutting measures.  I am not sure how far into the implementation of this ‘reinvention’ they are in because the plane we flew did not have the new seats.  Rather, this plane had the older green, leather seats which are wide, can be reclined, have some padding, and have a lot of legroom (I am 6ft and I had enough legroom so where my knees were NOT hitting the seat in front of me – whereas on other carriers my knees have been squashed by the seat in front of me).   The older seat was comfortable and decent for the duration of the flight. 

The older plane also had the personal IFE which can provide live DirectTV for a fee.  From my understanding Frontier is discontinuing this service in the ‘reinvention’.  The fee to access the TV is $5 and you can swipe your card to access the TV – the flight path map can be viewed for free.  The screens are fine for a longer-haul journey, but they are small (tiny in fact) and the controls for the system are on the armrest so you can accidentally hit the controls when you are resting your arm (which I did many times).

What was part of the ‘new’ Frontier was the service on board – as it’s a paid service so if you would like food or drink, you have to pay.  The prices vary from $1.99 for a soft drink to higher for other drinks and snacks.  They will provide a glass of water for free.   I had brought my own drink and food at the airport so I did not buy anything on board – this is the biggest instance where some are complaining about Frontier.  I have been on longer flights – about 2.5 hours – on mainline carriers where for that long duration you only get one free drink and that is it, and for that they charge a lot.  I do not mind brining my own drink if I am getting a lower fare – and that is what Frontier offers.

Overall, given the short duration and the low fare it was a really good flight that left on time and arrived early!  Given Frontier is moving to the ultra LCC model, I was expecting a lot worse so maybe that is why my expectations were exceeded.  If you know what to expect, then you can get a decent flight on a very inexpensive fare.   

Based on this experience, would I book Frontier again?  If the fare was low and my travel needs were the same then definitely yes.  The $99 fare was extremely low given that Southwest and Delta were charging between $160-$260 for the same route and time.  Given that and given the travel time and my travel needs, Frontier was the best option.  My family has booked future flights on the same route, and sometimes we have booked Frontier while other times we have booked Southwest.  Sometimes Frontier provided the best fare while other times their fare was comparable to Southwest, but Southwest provided additional services (free luggage and free changing of travel plans) which Frontier does not so based on those extra and our travel needs, we made the decision.  Hope this review helps you in your decision making.