I missed Frontier’s 45 minute check-in policy by 3 minutes. I stood in front of Frontier’s abandoned ticketing desk 42 minutes before my flight with disbelief in my eyes, panic in my heart, and my 3 and half year old niece by my side. I called customer service for Frontier and was told there was no further assistance they could give me. My tickets were non-refundable and non-transferable. It was surreal to pay for two new tickets on a different airline when pre-boarding for my original flight had not yet taken place.
I made my Frontier flight home and my assigned seat was next to an elderly woman who had limited mobility and used a cane. After everyone boarded, it was clear the first row of seats on one side were all unoccupied. My seat-mate asked to move up to those seats to have a little more room for her leg and to maybe be a little more comfortable. She was told she was welcome to move as long as she paid a $50.00 upgrade fee… those seats stayed empty for the flight. I will never understand why these employees seem to have no compassion….or perhaps Frontier’s policies are strictly enforced… Either way it was a horrible experience and one I will never ever repeat.
EDITORS COMMENT: The rules are the rules and really the airline has done nothing wrong here. For you as the passenger though it seems unfair and it is expensive and frustrating but imagine if they allow the cut off to be extended another 5 minutes for you and then the next person – eventually the flights would be delayed all the time. The cut off time is not about boarding it’s about fuel. The weight needs to be calculated at a minimum 45 minute before to allow the correct fuel etc to be loaded. This 45 minutes is also the time for you to get through security and to your gate.
