a row of seats on an airplane

I mentioned yesterday that I took advantage of a cheap ticket on Frontier Airlines for a trip this week to Milwaukee. While my expectations were very low going in, I have to admit not only did Frontier exceed them, but left me with a quite favorable impression of the ultra-low-cost carrier.

A Nice Start To My Frontier Airlines Trip…Maybe Even Spectacular (For The Price)

I set my alarm for 2:45 am, left the house by 3:15 am, and by 4:15 am had pulled into the parking lot in Ontario International Airport in the “Inland Empire” of Southern California. It’s not a highly convenient airport for me (Burbank is seven minutes way from the house we are currently living in and LA is about 40 minutes away), but a $63 fare and the chance to try a new carrier was too good to pass up.

I deliberately chose to travel light, layering myself in clothing and taking only my laptop bag along for the two day trip. With no checked bag, I bypassed the check-in counter and headed right for the security checkpoint.

Thankfully, Ontario has both PreCheck (which Frontier participates in) and Clear. At 4:20 am the security lines were very long, but with these aids I was through in no time and just in time to board.

I knew there would be no wi-fi or plugs onboard. I came prepared with content downloaded and a full battery (though I did not bother to bring by power bank).

an airplane with rows of seats

a row of seats in an airplane

The seats are not very well-padded and the tray table is tiny.

seats in an airplane with windows

a hand on a laptop

But the aircraft was clean, the flight was punctual, the coffee ($4.39) was surprisingly decent, and the flight attendants were quite nice. I had my doubts at first when one seemed to mock a passenger for using the lavatory (“I can’t believe you boarded the plane to use the lavatory. Why didn’t you go outside?”), but it was her style of humor (I guess?) and the ladies working the back were very kind to me.

a coffee cup on a table

In fact, once boarding was complete the crew moved me up a few rows such that I had an open middle seat next to me. That was appreciated.

Water, by the way, is free on Frontier. I did not know that and appreciated it.

We landed in Denver 30 minutes early.

a plane parked on the tarmac

I’m going to publish a full review from this flight quickly enough, but that about sums up the ideal Frontier experience: on-time, cheap, and efficient.

Had I flown United on the same route in first class there would have been breakfast, TV screens, a comfortable seat, plugs, and wi-fi. But at 1/7 the cost of United, I think I made the right bet this time with Frontier.

Now let’s see about the connection to Milwaukee…

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