Emotionally, I felt a little bit like this guy when all of this happened… Anyone who has read what I write for a while knows that I love the discount airlines. There are plenty of options in and out of Orlando. These airlines will offer low fares, but you pay for all of the extras; including a carry-on and your seat assignment. I can cram a week’s worth of stuff into a backpack that will fit under the seat, so I don’t buy the extras. Because of the no frills airlines, I’ve been able to fly to New England to see my parents four times so far this year for the same price that one trip would have cost just three years ago. I’ll sacrifice a little bit of comfort in order to be able to spend time with my family!
Recently I booked a round trip flight to Hartford, Connecticut on Frontier. Out of all of the discount airlines, I’ve flown on Frontier the most, because they often have the lowest fares, plus they fly nonstop to most of the places where I travel. They offer flights to two different airports just an hour from the small town where my parents live, and a third airport is about an hour more. I also like Frontier because they fly out of both Orlando International Airport and Tampa International Airport, so I have choices on both ends. Until recently I had never even experienced a significant delay on Frontier, it’s always been a decent experience.
My flight to Hartford changed my record. I showed up at OIA with plenty of time to spare. The flight was late to board, but someone explained over the loudspeaker that the plane we would be flying on had not yet arrived. Just a few more minutes passed when we were informed that the plane was there and that we would begin boarding after a safety inspection. I was not prepared for the next announcement. We were told that the plane had been deemed unsafe to fly, and that our flight was cancelled.
Looking back, I will give them credit that they were truthful about what was going on. We weren’t given a half excuse, we were told outright that the plane wasn’t safe. At that moment, though, all I felt was panic. I sent a quick text to my sister and her husband, because they were waiting for me on the other end. I then let my husband and daughter know what was going on, although I still wasn’t 100 percent sure myself.
Like all the other passengers, I got into the line for the Frontier desk at our gate. While I waited, I looked up other flights on my phone. There wasn’t a Frontier flight to Hartford for several more days. I saw a couple for the next day on Spirit instead of Frontier. I struck up a conversation with the woman in front of me, and let her know what I had found out.
After standing in the non-moving line for a few minutes, another Frontier employee told us that we could make arrangements at the Frontier counter at the ticketing area of the airport, we didn’t need to wait in the line that we were in. Instead of heading that way, I sat down to catch my breath and to think. I checked my email, and I had two new emails from Frontier. One of them was a $100 flight voucher, just to make up for the inconvenience. The second explained my options. The first possibility was that I could cancel the reservation, and then I would have to book another flight through a different airline myself. Frontier would refund my money, plus give me a $400 flight voucher for a future flight. The other option was that they would pay for a new flight (any airlines) or rental car, up to $400. When I realized that I didn’t need to wait in the line at the ticket desk, I called my husband and asked him to pick me up. I then booked one of the Spirit flights for the next day. When I got home, I followed the instructions in the email so that I would receive my voucher.
The next day I returned to OIA, got on the Spirit flight, and flew to Hartford. Easy peasy. When I was able to give both of my parents a hug I knew that all was right with the world once again.
I received an email from Frontier I believe the next day. They had some follow up questions before they could approve my voucher. They were questions that I could answer easily enough, and within a day or two my voucher was approved.
All was fine until I went to check in for my return flight. What I did not realize was that when I accepted the $400 voucher, I was cancelling the entire reservation. (This was my fault, who reads all that stuff?) I tried to check in but my reservation was not found. I called Frontier, who had someone answering phones, even though it was first thing in the morning. I confirmed what I suspected, I did not have a return flight. It still wasn’t a problem, I just used the first $100 voucher that they gave me and made a new reservation on the same flight. If I had checked my bank account, I would have known that my return flight had been cancelled, because they had refunded the entire amount already.
That $400 voucher was like gold to me. I used it to pay for three upcoming flights home right after Christmas (my husband and daughter will also be going). The voucher had to be used all at once, and our flights didn’t add up to that amount, so I added the extras for a change. Our flight up north will be on Southwest, which doesn’t charge for the extras. It’s going to be nice to be able to actually have bags with us when we head up there for Christmas!
A couple more things. First, in the future, I’ll book two one way flights instead of a round trip flight. That way, if there is a problem, my flight home won’t be cancelled. Second, the two flight vouchers that I was given needed to be used within three months. I didn’t have to fly within three months, but the reservations needed to be made within that timeframe. Also, as I already said, any remaining balance on the voucher would not be held over in my account. If I booked a $50 flight with the $400 voucher, I’d lose $350 of it. That’s why I added the extras on our flight in December, I had enough left on the voucher for them.
Am I still a fan of the discount airlines? Absolutely. Although the cancellation was inconvenient and cost me a day of my trip, it all still worked out in the end. I got to spend time with my parents (which is the most important thing), and financially I came out almost $250 ahead. Yes, it was a pain, but it’s a pain when any flight is cancelled. And I do appreciate that Frontier was upfront and let us know that it was a safety issue, instead of acting like the cancellation was because of something minor.