Review: Flying Frontier Airlines Made Economic Sense

My husband and I recently took a short trip to Florida, flying from Detroit to Fort Myers via Frontier Airlines. It was cost effective, it was clean and it got us there and back without any issues.

My grandma spends the winters in mid-Florida. Spring 2012 was the last time I was able to make the trip due to cost of the flight. Back then, we flew Spirit. It was a few hundred dollars per ticket and even then we were charged for overhead bin space and ended up paying for a checked bag. Spirit was our cheapest option.

Since then, every time my grandma has traveled to Florida for the winter, I secretly check airfare with the dreams of making another trip down to her winter home. I checked Frontier around Christmas time and found amazing fares. For  my husband and I, the trip would be roughly $200 round trip. Together. Flying Frontier Airlines made sense and made the trip possible.

While buying my tickets, I decided to join the Discount Den, which gave me an even lower rate. Our prices broke down like this:

Totally cost effective, even for the 4.5 days we were planning to be away. And, of course, it was my first birthday with my grandma in years.

We did not pay to choose our seats so we weren’t eligible for an exit row or anything roomy. It was an extra $12 to elect where we sat and secure sitting next to each other. We opted not to. It turns out, we were next to each other anyway.

We paid for one carry on bag for the over-head bin and each person was able to take on a person item that could fit under the seat. I had a small messenger bag. My husband had a backpack.

Our flight was leaving at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday and we were on time. The flight before us was actually an early-departure, which meant our plane was able to pull in, unload, clean up and get us on board quickly. We were on the plane with an Otter on the tail. Turns out, her name was Erma.

The plan was in great shape. I was sort of expecting budget airplanes, but they were really nice. They aren’t the roomiest planes and there certainly isn’t the option for top-notch first-class, but it didn’t smell and it wasn’t messy.

We pushed away from the gate on time and were taxiing around when our pilot pulled off to a de-icing area. The pilot came overhead and said the plane came in with a little ice on the wings and we need to de-ice. He described what we might smell and see and then the process began. We were 9 minutes late getting off the ground.

The flight was smooth despite the cloudy and snowy conditions. Our plane headed east over Lake Erie and Canada before zig-zagging down the east coast into Florida and over to Fort Myers. The pilot told us we might experience some bumps over northern Florida, but they were minor.

I loaded up my tablet and watched “Crazy, Stupid, Love” while my husband took a nap before the beverage and snack service started. I was starving so I ordered a pop and a Rice Krispie Treat (not many options) while my husband had a double Jack and Coke with some Chex mix. It was roughly $30. There are no free drinks or snacks on the flight.

The crew was on top of things and came around to collect garbage and cans several times before we began our descent. It was a little bumpy coming down so the flight attendants had to take their seats early, but all was fine when we landed.

Our flight attendant had us cheer for the stellar performance of our pilots—I’ll clap for arriving alive. And we were about 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Can’t beat that.

We didn’t have checked luggage so I can’t speak to how that entire process went, but if it was anything like the rest of the flight, it was smooth sailing.

Check back later to find out how everything went on our flight home.