airline opinion

[rm]

Frontier Airlines -- yay or nay?

Are they on time?
Is their customer service tolerable if shit goes wrong?
How onerous is the stopping in Wisconsin on the way to the West Coast?
Newer planes or other airlines' cast-offs repainted? (um, yeah, I care -- it has to do with the pressurization and my sinuses; newer planes mean less in-flight pain for me).

It's like a $200 difference on a trip for Patty and I, so I care, but if it's going to be hell, I'll just spend the money (I won't, for example, fly Spirit for cost savings).

Comments

[mellacita.livejournal.com]

Speaking from significant experience: layovers on smaller carriers in smaller airports in the upper midwest during any part of the year in which snowstorms or thunderstorms are likely...is usually not worth the savings in fare. How many times per day does Frontier go to LA from Wisconsin (in the event of a cancellation or delay)? How many planes are they likely to be able to reroute in the event of weather disruptions? How many other carriers operate out of that airport they might switch you to in an emergency?

I have spent way too many nights sleeping on floors in smaller midwestern airports because they cancelled a flight or my connection was delayed and they had so few flights out of that particular airport that there were no others 'til the next day, or there were no seats on the few remaining that day. Something to keep in mind.

[rm.livejournal.com]

This would be over Labor Day weekend. Are there thunderstorms then? I don't even know!

[mellacita.livejournal.com]

It's peak storm season for tornados and severe thunderstorms, yeah. But those at their worst are not as disruptive as snow and ice. You'd maybe/probably? be okay. I have been stuck overnight in Columbus and Cleveland at that time of year due to thunderstorms in Chicago, though. But not often.

As for the plane age, most airlines describe their fleets on the websites, and when you shop for flights you can often see the description of the equipment. That and judicious application of google should tell you a lot about whether the plane itself is likely to give you trouble.

If you do fly with them, try flying earlier in the day, maybe? That way if there are disruptions there are more options later in the day.

[fightingwords.livejournal.com]

I have spent way too many nights sleeping on floors in smaller midwestern airports because they cancelled a flight or my connection was delayed and they had so few flights out of that particular airport that there were no others 'til the next day, or there were no seats on the few remaining that day.

Yes, that was my experience as well, flying back and forth to Chicago from New York.