Frontier Airlines Airbus A321neo Economy Class Review [IAH to ONT]

Airline: Frontier Airlines (F9)
Aircraft: Airbus A321neo
Flight #: F93131
Route: George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to Ontario International Airport (ONT)
Date: October 3, 2024
Duration: 3 hours, 15 minutes
Cabin and Layout: Economy, 230 seats across 39 rows, 3-3 configuration on most rows, 2-2 configuration in rows 10 and 26
Seats: 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, 6F
Cost: $714 total for 5 tickets round-trip IAH to SFO

I flew Frontier Airlines from Houston (IAH) to San Francisco (SFO) in early October with my family of 5. Our first leg took us to Ontario International Airport (ONT) in Southern California, and we had a good flight. It was my first time flying Frontier with Frontier Miles Elite Platinum status, and I regret waiting so late in the year to take advantage of the status I’ve had all of 2024.

The flight was flawless, except for confusion about the departure terminal. That was a welcome change, as it allowed us to visit a lounge I hadn’t planned on otherwise.

Here’s my family’s experience on a 3-hour flight with Frontier with Elite Platinum status, from the IAH airport experience to arriving at ONT.

Booking Frontier Airlines

I always check prices with low-cost carriers when I book domestic travel for my family. Often, the math works out that it’s worth it to pay cash for low fares rather than use points that could be redeemed for a better value elsewhere. It’s not always cheap to fly with 5 people, but I’m happy to snap up low-cost fares when it makes sense.

For my family’s fall trip to San Francisco, I compared flights on Spirit, Southwest, and Frontier and checked the Chase Travel and Amex Travel portals for options with legacy carriers. Overall, flight prices were lower than I expected, but Frontier offered the best options this time — as long as I was willing to endure a couple of layovers.

It cost $714 for all 5 of us to fly to SFO and back, including the IAH to ONT leg of our trip. That worked out to about $71 each way per person (around $143 round-trip) — a bargain that’s tough to beat! I earned 1,496 miles round-trip.

We connected from IAH to SFO in ONT, in Ontario, California, with a 2-hour layover. On the return trip, we had an overnight layover in Las Vegas, which was appealing because I had a free suite night to redeem at Rio Las Vegas, and my family wanted to visit Meow Wolf Las Vegas. The overnight in Las Vegas with an early flight departure was tough, and I don’t think I’ll choose a similar itinerary again, but it was fun to try it this time.

I got Frontier Miles Elite Platinum status in late 2023 using a status match and hadn’t used it until this flight, so I was eager to see what it was like. I was impressed.

I had Spirit Airlines’ Free Spirit Gold status for a year (via another status match) and enjoyed its benefits. However, I felt it had limited perks for family travel, as most of the status perks were only for me and not for other passengers on my itinerary. For example, I could choose a seat for myself but not others, and only I could bring a carry-on bag or checked bag free of charge.

It was an entirely different story for Frontier Miles Elite Platinum status. I could choose free seats for all 5 of us, and the options were excellent. We booked almost the entire sixth row, and I paid no seat selection fees. Had I paid for seats, the fees (ranging from $17 to $55 per seat) would have been $85 to $275 just on this flight. We could all bring a carry-on for free (another $265 in value at $53 per bag) and got Zone 1 boarding, so we were among the first on the plane. I’m disappointed I waited 10 months to take advantage of these perks!

Hot Tip:

Check out more tips for flying Frontier with kids in our ultimate guide!

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)

We arrived at IAH about 2 hours before our scheduled flight departure. Frontier usually flies out of Terminal A, and I hadn’t seen anything to indicate that had changed until we were already at the airport.

Check-In

I checked in on the Frontier app the day before, and since we didn’t have any bags to check, we went straight to Terminal A security.

Security

As usual, getting through IAH Terminal A security with TSA PreCheck was a breeze. The regular, TSA PreCheck, and Clear lines seemed slightly longer than usual, but we still made it through within 10 or 15 minutes.

Hot Tip:

I paid for my TSA PreCheck service with my Chase Sapphire Reserve^®, which offers a complimentary TSA PreCheck membership. As a cardholder benefit, I was reimbursed for my purchase. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is one of the best credit cards for complimentary Global Entry and TSA PreCheck.

Gate Change

As we got through security, I opened the app to double-check our departure gate and discovered that our flight was no longer departing from Terminal A; we’d have to go to Terminal D. I later checked my email and saw that I received an update about the gate change at 11:31 a.m. Our flight departed at 12:17 p.m., so Frontier cut it close on that notification. I’m glad we checked in the app well before the email came through.

Fortunately, we had enough time to hop on the IAH SkyTrain, and departing from Terminal D made it easier to quickly visit a lounge before boarding. Unless you’re flying American or United, the only lounges at IAH are in Terminal D, including Priority Pass lounges and the Centurion Lounge.

The gate seating was somewhat crowded when we arrived in Terminal D.

In a stroke of good luck, our departure gate was so close to the KLM Crown Lounge that we could see it. We had about 15 minutes before boarding time to pop in for refreshments.

KLM Crown Lounge

We’d eaten before arriving at the airport, and I hadn’t planned on visiting a lounge ahead of this flight. Still, I welcomed the opportunity to grab free drinks and snacks at the KLM Crown Lounge, just a few steps from our departure gate.

Getting into the lounge took several minutes, as the lounge used the airport Wi-Fi to connect with Priority Pass for verification. The front desk attendant apologized and bemoaned the technology issues as she tried to swipe a few times and then manually put in our information to grant access to the lounge.

I’ve been denied entry to this lounge before as a Priority Pass member, but I suspect I came at the wrong time during those experiences. The Priority Pass listing for KLM Crown Lounge at IAH indicates daily access restrictions between 1 and 6:30 p.m. This visit was not during those hours.

The lounge had ample seating for us, but we didn’t have time to lounge around — this visit was purely a pit stop and grab-and-go snack mission.

We were mostly looking for snacks we could enjoy on the plane, and the lounge satisfied that need with bagged chips and individually wrapped cookies.

Around the corner was a cold pasta and salad buffet with fruit selections. I didn’t have time to dig in and enjoy a plate, but I gladly took a couple of individually wrapped apples for the plane.

I was surprised to see no hot buffet selections, as I’d seen on a previous visit. However, our visit was a little before noon, and I guessed we might have caught them swapping out hot buffet food items between breakfast and lunch services. We didn’t plan on a hot meal at the lounge, anyway!

Numerous beverages were available. An attendant poured alcoholic drinks, though there wasn’t a bar. Canned drinks in the cooler were self-serve, so we helped ourselves to those.

After a quick restroom visit and loading our bags with snacks and drinks, we hustled back to the gate just a few minutes before boarding time.

Bottom Line:

For an extended look at the KLM Crown Lounge at IAH, check out my detailed review from a prior visit.

Boarding

I peeked out the window at the plane before boarding to see which animal we were flying with. It was Stewart the red-billed streamertail — though my kids were far more excited when we had an axolotl plane later.

We all had Zone 1 boarding with my Elite Platinum status, so we boarded after the preboards and Board First passengers. The Zone 1 and Zone 2 lines were clearly marked, and the boarding process was easy.

In Zone 1, passengers could have carry-on bags. It was nice to sail right through with zero worries about the size of our bags. I was relieved since my kids’ backpacks, which usually count as personal items, were stuffed more like carry-ons this time, but my status allowed them for free. I noticed Frontier’s sizer was pulled up and ready for Zone 2 and later passengers to check personal item sizing.

Our journey to the plane started with an indoor ramp.

Then we headed into the jetway to reach the plane door.

After just a few moments of waiting, we stepped onto the plane.

On Board Frontier Airlines’ A321neo

Our flight was full, but with early boarding and row 6 seats, that didn’t affect us much.

We quickly reached our seats and settled into row 6. The kids took seats A, B, and C, while my husband and I split the aisle and window in D and F. As it was a full flight, another passenger was between us in seat E.

Our seats had a width of 18 inches and a pitch somewhere between 30 to 32 inches.

The legroom didn’t leave much to spare. It was fine when I initially sat down, but my knees were squished after I relaxed down into my seat a bit more and added a drink to the seatback pocket.

The seatback pocket had enough room for a few items but was open on the sides, so it wasn’t very secure. I wouldn’t put electronics in it. It was effective for storing an unopened drink until I could open my tray table, and that’s about it.

The tray table was similarly functional but sparse and very lightweight.

There wasn’t much room on the tray table, and it didn’t adjust forward. It was adequate for snacks, drinks, and a tablet, but I wouldn’t try to put a laptop on it.

The call buttons and air vents were available and functional.

Food and Beverage

Frontier does not offer complimentary snacks or drinks, not even for elite-status passengers. However, you can purchase snacks and drinks from the Fly Bar menu.

Drinks ranged from $3.99 for nonalcoholic soft drinks, juices, and mixers to $9.99 for liquor, wine, or beer. Bundles with drinks and snacks offered savings.

Snacks, such as chips, candy, or ramen, started at $4.99, and snack packs were $8.99. The Griz snack pack looked pretty good to me, and I’d bet it cost less than you’d pay to pick up the same items at an airport shop.

Amenities

Frontier has no amenities, such as Wi-Fi or inflight entertainment. I would have appreciated access to Wi-Fi, even if it had a reasonable fee.

Though Frontier lacks amenities, it offers a distinctive perk for passengers: Frontier trading cards. I’ve never seen these passed around, but they are usually available upon request. A flight attendant was happy to give me a selection of cards to share with my family, including a couple of 30th-anniversary cards! I kept the bog turtle and Airbus cards — my kids couldn’t resist the polar bears and owl.

Hot Tip:

The Frontier trading cards are cute and especially fun for kids excited about flying. You can ask a flight attendant if any are available.

Lavatory

There were 3 lavatories on board, with 1 in the front and 2 in the back. I visited the small front lavatory, which had all the necessary items, including a changing table.

The sink was similarly no-frills, but the water pressure was fine, there was plenty of soap, and the trash wasn’t overloaded.

Service

Service is always minimal on a low-cost carrier flight like this, but Frontier delivered good service where it mattered. Every Frontier staff member we encountered was welcoming and positive, from the gate agents to the flight attendants. Zone 1 boarding was clear and easy, the food and beverage service was efficient, and we had several opportunities to throw away trash before landing. The cabin areas were clean and well-stocked. When I asked for Frontier trading cards, the flight attendant was delighted to pick out a good selection. Overall, I consider that great service on a low-cost carrier.

Arrival at Ontario International Airport (ONT)

We arrived on time at ONT and had another stroke of good luck with a nearby lounge. Our arrival gate in Terminal 2 was next to an Aspire Lounge, accessible to us via the Priority Pass network. Coincidentally, we departed for our flight to SFO from the same gate. It couldn’t have been more convenient for an easy lunchtime layover.

Final Thoughts

I didn’t expect an impeccable experience on a low-cost carrier, but Frontier was practically perfect for this flight. The only issue we encountered was a last-minute gate change, which was welcome because it allowed us to pop into the KLM Crown Lounge for inflight snacks before boarding. Our fares were low, and we got significant value from my Frontier Miles Elite Platinum status benefits, which provided all of us with priority boarding, great seats, and free carry-on bags. This was an excellent flight, and I’m looking forward to taking advantage of my Frontier status again before it runs out at the end of the year.