A reader was refused check-in by Frontier Airlines in Raleigh when they were trying to fly to Boston. They report showing up at the airport counter 50 minutes prior to departure, thinking that’s plenty since they have CLEAR for security and didn’t expect more than 5 minutes to the gate.
There were three things they weren’t expecting.
- Frontier’s check-in rules that require you to arrive at least one hour before departure (they booked through an online travel agency and didn’t know to look for this)
- That Frontier charges extra for a printed boarding pass at the airport
- And that Frontier staff are… a little different than what you find at most airlines. They don’t exude the usual professionalism other airlines expect.
The couldn’t use a kiosk and were told they had to check in at the counter. Initially the agents were happy to help – for a $25 fee. He pushed back, “I’ve never experienced that and they said it’s on their website. I said I wouldn’t have known to look at the website.”
Reaching for his credit card, he mutters under his breath that he’s “never flying this shitty airline again.” Big mistake. The agent helping him shut down, and refused to print a boarding pass. They even threatened to ban him from the airline, to help him keep his promise not to fly Frontier again. Police were called.
Ultimately the airport police arrived and they were extremely polite and professional. I ask them In private if I am being ridiculous And they both nodded their heads empathetically that I was not.
Most interesting to me is that they said this is not going to be the last incident – probably not even the last incident today with Frontier Airlines.
Now he’s stuck with a Frontier ticket he wasn’t allowed to use, and a new $500 charge for a flight on JetBlue 90 minutes later.
It’s interesting they were initially willing to check him in, since officially their policy is to cut off check-in 60 minutes prior to departure. So things started off well! I suspect these agents are so used to customer behavior going off the rails that they are a bit hair-trigger themselves. And Frontier staff do seem more informal anyway!
The passenger reports that he called Indigo Partners which owns Frontier Airlines: “They had a customer service person who works on higher level issues Call me. that person Was incredibly empathetic and professional, and he is looking into this and trying to resolve it.”
How could any passenger be expected to put up with this head-bobbing ghetto attitude. Frontier should have minimum requirements for courtesy and intelligence.
lol frontiers rule is 60 minutes agent was nice enough to make an exception for more than this cheapskate paid for airfare – it sucks. You want full service pay for it! Dont expect special treatment casue you white or jewish or black or orange.
One and only Frontier flight was late night to Vegas. They decided to save money by not having motion-sickness bags(!) Got to enjoy an unpleasant smell from the row behind, and saw one poor woman run to the front of the plane where Frontier apparently stashed the bags! One and done for me, despite the “low” cost!
The reality is that they were both in the wrong. It was the passenger’s responsibility to understand the terms of the ticket- anyone that travels frequently knows that rules and fees change constantly. Making a smartass remark definitely didn’t help his situation.
The agent was also rude and obnoxious and Frontier should be smart enough to know that allowing agents to behave like this is costing them money and respect. They should both be retrained and have to repeat the probation period.
Frontier isn’t the considered the worst airline in the US for no reason. Customers need to talk with their money and just stop using them.
Can we get an update on what happened to these employees?? They definitely do not need to be working in a customer service environment
They want everyone to use their app. So now you need an app for every airline. And yeah, been flying frontier and spirit for short hops lately and 50% no air sickness bags!
Just find out where Frontier employees park. Wait for her shift to end and finish the conversation.
They are paid and likely called customer service representatives and trained that way. No matter what race you are this is completely unacceptable behavior. She had many opportunities to do the right thing. They have supervisors they can call. Probably one behind the counter but didn’t bother or have had dealing with her before. “Personal space” is not behind the counter. That’s business space where you should at least pretend you’re working at. She didn’t ever care at all. I would’ve fired her on the spot and so should the airlines. I’ll never fly it after seeing this. And no I don’t care who was black and who was white. We all deserve service we pay for and ppl should do the jobs they’re paid for. Strenuous working with ppl but if you don’t like it or can handle it kindly, find another job
Frontier, where for a fee, you can not be ridiculed and mocked.
Well, seems that these “service” employees are now looking for a job. I suspect that the passenger has received a refund, and probably some free flights- but I doubt he will fly Frontier again. Nor will a lot of folks that saw this.
Does no one ask this question. Why are both agents recording the conversation with this guy? I want to see all the videos of this situation. PERIOD! All the Frontier Employees did not seem real thrilled to help this guy. So let us be smart about this. We see a 1:14 video of employees asking for space and not helping the client. BOOM they are the ones not working!!! How about what triggered all of this. I am 100% sure it was not the snide remark. The Boston Dad was most likely not being the best gentleman and showed his a$$ to the entire Frontier counter. He got hostile toward the employee’s and when they started to record him to document his behavior. Again I want to see the entire video from all 3 people recording. THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE!
Really seems like both parties should take some blame here. The passenger didn’t know the terms of the ticket he purchased, which is a problem – but admittedly a bigger problem when the airline you’re flying is Frontier who tries to nickel and dime you at every turn. If the airline policy is to cut off check-ins at 60 minutes, but then they tried to get an additional $25 out of the passenger to check him in at the desk between 30-50 min before the flight – I too would be upset if the customer service agent at the desk treated me like that.
Entire situation started due to the passenger not knowing the terms of his ticket, but could have easily been handled by the customer service agent if they’d actually attempted to provide service and stay calm
I’ve seen this before- self entitled travelers that think they can say whatever they want. This could’ve easily gone another way for him – and $25.
Take your mouthy ass back to Boston- you’ll fit right in there.
I flew from California to New York. I always check in prior to go to the airport, never got a message to check in. Got to the airport and tried to use the machine to do it and couldn’t, and the lady at the counter very Rude said is $25 to print it out. I will NEVER use Frontier again, first time and last…..
Maybe the guy left in time to be a full hour early and getting parked, etc, was more time consuming than planned. If you bought a ticket thru an online provider like CheapOair, etc, there might not be notice about a stupid fee to check in with agents. If you don’t have extra money to buy a ticket, you are screwed. I didn’t have enough money for alternate way home and would have had to spend the night at RDU, traveling back to Greenville, if it weren’t for friends coming to get me!! There had been a storm that the plane was diverted around near Charlotte. And there are no late night flights to Greenville from RDU!!! And I probably didn’t have money to get a bus ticket either!! I wasn’t traveling for fun, I was flying because I had to. Thankfully people were helpful, but one more reason why I prefer to drive!!!
Frontier Airlines struggles stem from CEO, Barry Biffle. These incidents, of which there are many, highlight the unprofessional behavior that is a result of an unclear vision and poor decision-making that trickles down, fostering inconsistency and eroding employee morale and customer trust. Frontier Pilots see it every day. https://youtu.be/y4y3uKU0Boo?si=WoUCeepDSDtgl3cs