Frontier Airlines Review — Seats, Amenities, Customer Service, Baggage Fees & More

Key Takeaways

• Frontier Airlines is a budget carrier offering low fares but charges for extras like seat selection, carry-on bags, and in-flight refreshments.
• The airline focuses on cost-saving measures, including smaller seat pitches, making it ideal for budget-conscious travelers who prioritize price over comfort.
• Frontier’s frequent flyer program, Frontier Miles, rewards loyal customers with miles that can be redeemed for flights and other perks, such as a free carry-on bag, seat assignment, and no cancellation fees.

Low-cost carriers such as Frontier Airlines are a popular choice for travelers seeking budget-friendly air transportation without the bells and whistles. If you’re considering a flight with Frontier Airlines, you’re probably curious about ticket options, fees, seats, reliability, and whether Frontier Airlines is a good airline to fly.

Read on to get answers about the airline, including ticketing/fare options, insights into those pesky extras (including baggage fees), seat specs, inflight amenities, customer satisfaction rankings, and more.

Basic Info

Airline: Frontier Airlines

Alliance: None

Category: Low-cost airline

Frequent Flyer Program: Frontier Miles

Tag Line: “Low Fares Done Right.”

About/Mission Statement: “At Frontier, we believe The Sky is for Everyone and we deliver on this vision through our unique brand of Low Fares Done Right. We are tireless in our efforts to save you money on your flights, but we know that low fares alone aren’t enough. That’s why we make a bigger commitment – that’s the ‘Done Right’ promise.”¹

Fleet: 135

Main Hub: Denver

Destinations: 94

Frequent Flyer Program

Frontier Miles is Frontier’s loyalty program. If you reach Frontier Miles elite status, you get certain perks including no additional fees.

There are 4 levels of elite status within the program, each with the following requirements and benefits. You earn 10 points for every dollar you spend on Frontier.

Elite Silver requires you to earn 10,000 points with Frontier and includes:

• A free carry-on bag
• Seat assignment
• Family pooling
• No change/cancel fees
• Preferred seat at check-in

Elite Gold requires you to earn 20,000 points with Frontier and includes all of the benefits of Elite Silver plus:

• Preferred seat at booking
• Priority Zone 1 boarding
• Complimentary carry-on bag
• Premium seat at check-in

Elite Platinum requires you to earn 50,000 points with Frontier and includes all of the benefits of Elite Gold plus:

• Premium seat at booking
• Pet in-cabin waiver
• 50% off Discount Den membership
• Family status

Elite Diamond, Frontier’s top status, requires you to earn 100,000 points with Frontier and includes all of the benefits of Elite Platinum plus:

• A free Discount Den membership
• UpFront seat at check-in
• Refundable tickets
• Priority boarding first

Some benefits are just for the member, while some benefits are for the member and anyone else on the booking.

Ticketing Options

Frontier Airlines is a low-cost airline, so it follows the standard low-cost strategy when it comes to fares. Frontier advertises a basic ticket that covers your flight and a personal item — that’s it. Anything else is an added fee.

Frontier offers 3 options for ticketing:

• Basic Fare
• The WORKS
• The PERKS

Basic Fare: Frontier’s basic fare is just that: basic. This option covers getting you from Point A to Point B in a standard seat with 1 personal item.

Frontier’s the WORKS and the PERKS options are “bundles.” What’s a bundle, you ask?

Frontier conveniently bundles extras together and offers them to you at a discounted rate in 2 different tier options.

The WORKS

The WORKS is Frontier’s top-tier bundle. The cost starts at $59 one-way and varies by route; it’s also based on a round-trip purchase.

This option includes the following benefits at a discount of at least 50% vs. adding selections à la carte:

• The ability to refund your ticket
• No change fees
• Seat selection
• 1 carry-on bag included
• 1 checked bag included
• Priority boarding

Hot Tip:

The WORKS can only be purchased at the time of booking. If you want this bundle, don’t miss it the first time around!

The PERKS

The PERKS is Frontier’s second-tier bundle. The cost varies by route, and it’s also based on a round-trip purchase.

This option includes the following benefits at a discount of over 30% vs. adding selections à la carte.

• Seat selection
• 1 carry-on bag included
• 1 checked bag included

As you can see, the PERKS bundle doesn’t include the ability to change or cancel your reservation. You can add the PERKS bundle at any time, even if you purchased your flights through a third party.

Discount Den

Frontier Airlines offers Discount Den, a flight savings service, for a $59.99 annual fee. New members pay $99.99 their first year — $59.99 plus a one-time $40 enrollment fee.

Discount Den subscribers get exclusive access to the lowest available fares.

Here’s what you get:

• Exclusive access to the lowest fares
• Kids Fly Free on select dates and flights
• Unlimited savings for 1 year
• Fares available for 9 people on the itinerary (as long as the subscriber is one of the passengers)
• First look at new offers, promotions, and destinations
• Earn Frontier miles with every purchase

Hot Tip:

Before you spend your Frontier miles, check out our complete guide on redeeming Frontier Airlines miles for maximum value.

Frontier Baggage and Other Fees and Add-ons

Since Frontier is a low-cost airline that lists fares accordingly, you can expect some extra fees related to your trip, unless, of course, you’re the type who can fly comfortably in any seat with only a personal item.

Instead of hiding the add-ons, Frontier gladly explains why it keeps fares so low — to give customers a choice: “You only pay for what’s important to you.”

Baggage Fees

If you purchased the WORKS or the PERKS bundle, you already have 1 carry-on bag and 1 checked bag included in the cost. If you didn’t purchase either bundle, you can expect to incur higher baggage fees.

Baggage fees increase the closer you get to boarding, so you should purchase your allowance as soon as possible (ideally, at booking).

*Prices are per one-way flight.

Hot Tip:

If you purchase a carry-on bag, you’ll automatically gain Zone 1 boarding. 

Size/Weight Limits: Frontier has the following size and weight limitations for each type of baggage:

• Personal: 18 x 14 x 8 inches (45.72 x 35.56 x 20.32 cm)
• Standard: 24 x 16 x 10 inches (60.96 x 40.64 x 20.32 cm) and no heavier than 35 pounds (15.88 kg)
• Checked: Must adhere to max linear dimensions of 62 inches (158 cm) and a max weight of 40 pounds (18 kg)

If your baggage is overweight, oversized, or both, expect to pay additional fees per flight.

• Overweight baggage fee: $75
• Oversized baggage fee: $50 to $100

Other Fees and Add-Ons

Seat Selection: Frontier encourages all passengers to choose their seats at the time of booking. If you purchased the WORKS or the PERKS bundle, you will not have to pay an additional fee for seating.

If you purchased a Basic Fare and didn’t pay to choose your seat, Frontier will assign you a seat from what’s left at check-in.

Frontier makes no guarantees about seating your party together if you don’t prepurchase seats.

*Prices are per one-way flight.

Hot Tip:

For Frontier elite members, seat assignment fees are waived and upgrades to Stretch seating are free if available at the time of check-in. 

Call Center Reservations: $35 per passenger for bookings made through the call center

Paper Receipt/Itinerary: Undisclosed amount; Frontier reports a fee will be charged for any paper itineraries or receipts by mail.

Itinerary Change: If you change your flight 60+ days prior to departure, you will incur no costs to do so. If you need to change your flight 59 to 7 days prior to departure, you will incur a reduced fee of $49 per passenger. If you need to cancel or change your flight 6 days or less prior to departure, you will incur the normal fee of $99 per passenger. These fees are not applicable to passengers who have booked the WORKS, which offers free itinerary changes.

Name Change: $75 per person plus any fare difference between the fare already paid and the current fare for the same itinerary at the time the name change is processed.

Same-Day Confirmed Flight Changes: $99

Unaccompanied Minor: $100 per one-way flight (nonstop flights only; Frontier does not accept unaccompanied minors on connecting flights)

Pet Cabin Fee: $99 per one-way flight

Refreshments Onboard

Frontier does not offer complimentary beverages, snacks, or meals. You’ll need to bring your own refreshments or make an inflight purchase:

• Nonalcoholic beverages from $3.99
• Snacks from $4.99
• Beer, wine, and spirits from $9.99

Frontier also offers food and beverage packages for a slight discount.

How To Avoid Paying Excess Fees and Travel Expenses

Some fees are unavoidable when traveling, but you can keep from paying these out of pocket by using points and miles earned from rewards cards.

Below are Capital One credit cards we recommend where you can pay off transactions on your statement by using your miles. Each card allows you to redeem Capital One miles for 1 cent each as a statement credit for previous travel purchases (within 90 days). For example, 5,000 miles are worth $50, which you can use to offset those charges if you have enough miles in your account.

Here are our recommendations:

TOP PICK

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The Capital One Venture X card is an excellent option for travelers looking for an all-in-one premium credit card.

Apply Now(at Capital One's secure site)

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture X card is an excellent option for travelers looking for an all-in-one premium credit card.

Welcome Offer

Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

75,000 miles

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$1,350

Annual Fee

$395

APR

19.99% - 29.24% (Variable)

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Excellent (740-840)

Why We Like This Card

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is the premium Capital One travel rewards card on the block.

Points and miles fans will be surprised to see that the Capital One Venture X card packs quite the punch when it comes to bookings made through Capital One, all while offering the lowest annual fee among premium credit cards.

Depending on your travel goals and preferences, the Capital One Venture X card could very well end up being your go-to card in your wallet.

 

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 10x miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel
• 5x miles per $1 on flights and vacation rentals purchased through Capital One Travel
• 2x miles per $1 on all other purchases

Cons

• $395 annual fee (rates & fees)
• Does not offer bonus categories for flights or hotel purchases made directly with the airline or hotel group, the preferred booking method for those looking to earn elite status

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
• Receive a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
• Get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary
• Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
• Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases
• Enjoy complimentary access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and the Partner Lounge Network
• Use your Venture X miles to easily cover travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars and more—you can even transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
• Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
• Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck^®

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.99% - 29.24% (Variable)
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Capital One Miles

 

LIMITED TIME OFFER

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

Get 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit card!

Apply Now(at Capital One's secure site)

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Get 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit card!

Welcome Offer

Earn 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening, plus receive a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit in your first cardholder year – that’s equal to $1,000 in travel.

75,000 miles + $250 travel credit

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$1,600

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.99% - 29.24% (Variable)

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent Credit (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of the most popular rewards cards on the market. It’s perfect for anyone in search of a great welcome offer, high rewards rates, and flexible redemption options.

Frequent travelers with excellent credit may benefit from this credit card that offers a lot of bells and whistles. And it offers easy-to-understand rewards earning and redemption.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x miles per $1 on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• 2x miles per $1 on all other purchases
• Up to a $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit

Cons

• $95 annual fee (rates & fees)
• Limited elite benefits

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
• Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
• Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
• Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
• Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck^®
• Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
• Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
• Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.99% - 29.24% (Variable)
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Capital One Miles

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The card offers unlimited miles at 1.25x per $1 and no annual fee. When you consider the flexible rewards, frequent travelers come out on top.

Apply Now(at Capital One's secure site)

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

The card offers unlimited miles at 1.25x per $1 and no annual fee. When you consider the flexible rewards, frequent travelers come out on top.

Welcome Offer

Earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel.

20,000 miles

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$360

Annual Fee

$0

APR

19.24% - 29.24% (Variable),0% intro on purchases for 15 months

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

Interested in a travel rewards credit card without one of those pesky annual fees? Then say hello to the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card.

In addition to no annual fee, the Capital One VentureOne card offers no foreign transaction fees.

But is this card worth its salt, or is it merely a shell of the more popular Capital One Venture card?

Pros & Cons

Pros

• No annual fee (rates & fees)
• No foreign transaction fees (rates & fees)
• Ability to use transfer partners

Cons

• Weak earn rate at 1.25x miles per $1 spent on all purchases
• No luxury travel or elite benefits

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
• Earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel
• Earn unlimited 1.25X miles on every purchase, every day
• Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
• Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
• Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
• Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
• Enjoy 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months; 19.24% - 29.24% variable APR after that; balance transfer fee applies

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.24% - 29.24% (Variable),0% intro on purchases for 15 months
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Capital One Miles

Note: Unfortunately, the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard^® does not include free checked baggage as part of its benefits.

Frontier Seat Specs and Inflight Amenities

What will your Frontier flight look like? Let’s get into the seat specs and inflight amenities.

Seat Specs

Frontier has 3 seat types on its planes, Standard, Premium, and UpFront Plus. Seat pitch and width vary slightly depending on which plane you’re on, but it can get pretty tight! Additionally, these seats do not recline.

• Premium (all planes): 36″ pitch (rows 1 to 3), 38″ pitch (row 13), about 18″ width
• Standard A320 (V1 and V2): 28″ to 29″ pitch, 17″ to 19″ width
• Standard A321 (V1 and V2): 28″ to 29″ pitch, 16.5″ to 19″ width

UpFront Plus is a relatively new seating configuration that mimics the European business class model with the middle seat blocked.

The following table is a breakdown of seating on each Frontier aircraft model:

Most Frontier Airlines seats have very tight pitch — actually, the tightest in the airline industry (see table below).

When you combine a 28- to 29-inch pitch with a 16.5-inch width as experienced on some A321 seats, it makes for a pretty tight fit. Plus, most of the seats have tiny tray tables.

Inflight Amenities

Since Frontier is a low-cost airline, many of the inflight amenities passengers have come to expect on other more popular airlines are absent:

• Frontier does not provide inflight Wi-Fi, video streaming capabilities, or any type of onboard entertainment at this time.
• Refreshment service is limited to paid beverages and snacks only.
• Frontier does not have electrical outlets onboard for passenger/commercial product use.

Frontier Airlines Customer Satisfaction

Are people happy with their Frontier flights? That depends.

Of course, there are numerous complaints due to the general lack of research into what you actually get for your money with a low-cost airline. Anyone who knows the basic low-cost structure will know to expect extra costs (or a pared-down experience).

Frontier openly advertises how it’s able to keep its fares low, so there shouldn’t be any surprises. However, it is a bit tough to calculate what your total cost is going to be until you reach the final steps in your booking process.

In December 2023, the last full month of data collected, Frontier canceled 76 flights, delayed 910 flights, and diverted 22 flights (likely due to weather). Also, 3,335 bags were mishandled.

Consumer Rankings and Ratings

Here’s how Frontier Airlines stacks up on popular rankings and rating systems:

SkyTrax Airline Ranking: 3-star airline

ACSI Rating (American Customer Satisfaction Index): 67% (Eighth place out of the 10 largest U.S. carriers for the 12-month period ending February 2024)

AQR (Airline Quality Rating): Seventh out of the 10 largest U.S. carriers

Tripadvisor Airline Review Rating: 2.0/5 average (of 22,998 reviews)

Kayak Customer Rating: 6.3/10 (of 4,473 verified reviews)

Safety and Performance

Frontier Airlines has a 7/7 safety record as awarded by AirlineRatings.com. The rating considers whether the airline has an IATA Operational Safety Audit Certification and combines government and crash records along with information from the World’s Aviation Governing Body.

In terms of performance, the February 2024 Air Travel Consumer Report states that for 2023, Frontier Airlines was on time 66.99% of the time.

This places Frontier in last place out of 10 airlines in terms of On-Time Performance (OTP). In comparison, the top airline was Hawaiian, arriving on time 94.07% of the time.

Regardless of poor OTP and decreased customer satisfaction scores, Frontier Airlines has received a couple of notable awards:

• Federal Aviation Administration’s Diamond Award for Maintenance Excellence – 2016
• International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) – The Industry’s Most Fuel Efficient Airline

Final Thoughts

On many lists, Frontier sits right down at the bottom (alongside fellow low-cost carrier Spirit) as one of the worst airlines out there.

Is this mainly due to complaints surrounding low transparency with tons of added fees? Or is it more serious than that, concerning worsening customer satisfaction in regards to flight problems (delays and cancellations) and baggage handling?

Either way, the chance you’ll be satisfied with your Frontier flight seems like a toss-up, and it likely depends on your personality and expectations.

If you like all the perks included with your ticket, plan to check a couple of bags, and want a comfortable flight in terms of seating, then Frontier is not for you unless you plan to pay quite a bit more than its advertised base fares.

However, if you’re not bothered by a bare-bones flight, don’t have bags to check, and are OK with some customer satisfaction hiccups, then you could certainly score a pretty cheap flight from Frontier.